Mass supplements recall costly and chaotic say NZ manufacturers

Health supplement sales have dropped by up to 20 per cent following the Pan Pharmaceutical debacle, which has cost New Zealand companies tens of millions of dollars, industry leaders say.

Worst-hit have been retailers and suppliers who are still reeling from the biggest product recall in the country's history and the most devastating event to hit the $300-million-a-year complementary medicines industry.

The withdrawal of products made by the disgraced Australian company has resulted in a 17 to 20 per cent drop in sales in New Zealand's largest health-store chain. And industry leaders fear job cuts could loom.

Health 2000 marketing director Tom Bleier, whose company supplies 24 per cent of the market here, said the recall had cost the New Zealand industry tens of millions of dollars and he did not expect it to fully recover for four or five months.

Bleier said sales were starting to rise again and he hoped they would be back to normal within a month, but it would take much longer for shelves to be fully stocked. Some products, such as evening primrose oil and fish oils, were now in short supply.

He said the recall was costly, chaotic and a gross overreaction, as none of the recalled supplements had been proved to be unsafe.

The travel-sickness drug that caused a string of adverse reactions and sparked an investigation into Pan was not available here.



Thompsons Nutrition product manager Adam Baker said the recall had dealt a major blow to New Zealand manufacturers. Thompsons had been forced to cover the cost of its recalled products with little hope of compensation from Pan.

He said the alert had shaken consumer confidence in natural medicines, though he was confident this would return in time. Thompsons, a New Zealand manufacturer, contracted Pan to produce a handful of its supplements, which had to be withdrawn.

Food Safety Authority spokeswoman Sharon Williams said the recall had cost the Government an estimated $650,000 so far in advertising and extra staff costs.

There have been more than 8000 calls to the authority's free helpline since it opened on May 2, but these had now reduced to a trickle of 20 calls a day.

Overall, more than 2000 products were recalled. Between 700 and 800 were known to be available in New Zealand.

An investigation by Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration found safety and quality breaches at Pan, including substitution of ingredients, manipulation of test results and substandard manufacturing process.

- NZPA