Safety authority spends $500,000 on pills recall

By REBECCA WALSH

The Food Safety Authority has spent half a million dollars trying to recall up to 800 Pan Pharmaceuticals products available here.

Another 185 products for recall will be advertised today in eight newspapers throughout the country.

It is the fourth recall issued by the authority and follows a notice from the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration. About 2200 products are affected across the Tasman.

Carole Inkster, policy and regulatory standards director for the authority, said it hoped this would be the last recall.

It had spent $450,000 on advertising and another $50,000 on extra staff to handle calls from consumers.

Ms Inkster said the authority appeared to have no way to recoup the costs but it would probably seek further legal advice.

"Our priority was public health."

A spokesman for Health Minister Annette King said recalls would continue as long as was necessary.

Asked whether Pan should pay some of the cost of advertising the recall notices, he said the issue had not yet been discussed.

The first recall was ordered after one of Pan's motion sickness products, Travacalm, caused adverse reactions, including hallucinations.

Some people tried to jump out of aircraft and trains.

An audit found the company had breached safety and quality standards by manipulating test results and wrongly listing ingredients.

Pan has blamed the problems on a rogue employee.

Bill Bracks, president of the Natural Nutritional Foods Association, said the industry had withdrawn the latest list of products before the recall was announced.

"We know exactly what everyone has brought into the country from Pan ... we have an industry that keeps records.

"We go about the process the way we should do."

Suppliers had been faced with a monstrous logistical exercise.

The recalls were "destroying morale in the industry. There are people who are having breakdowns through stress," said Mr Bracks.

"You can't imagine how big this is in terms of the New Zealand industry. This is slowly destroying it."

People working in retail and distribution were working 14- to 18-hour days recalling, labelling and quarantining products.

Many were finding it difficult to source alternative products.

Mr Bracks said the recall would cost the industry millions. Some businesses would probably go under as thousands of consumers had been returning products to shops.

One Auckland supplier said business had definitely slowed.

But John Alexander, New Zealand manager of Mayne Consumer Products, said morale was not an issue and staff were getting on with the job.

Simon Cook, merchandising manager for Pharmacy Brands, which includes 270 pharmacies nationwide, said few people were seeking refunds.