Consumers are being advised by the FSAI, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, not to use food supplements, including vitamins and minerals and medicines produced by Pan Pharmaceuticals Ltd following a recall of all the company's products.
The FSAI has informed all manufacturers, suppliers and distributors that all products are to be recalled with immediate effect after the Australian company had its manufacturing licence suspended by the Australian regulatory authorities.
The authority said that consumers may already have these products at home and should not use any which are produced by Pan Pharmaceuticals.
In an announcement yesterday, the FSAI said it was working in collaboration with the Irish Medicines Board on the recall.
The manufacturing licence of Pan Pharmaceuticals Ltd was recently suspended by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) following audits at the company which highlighted serious control deficiencies in the company's manufacturing process.
The Food Safety Authority said some of Pan's food supplement products were known to be on the Irish market. It had cross-referenced the comprehensive list supplied by the TGA against its own food supplements database and to date it had identified 10 products.
The product recall requested all relevant parties to assist in the withdrawal of these products and the companies who received the recall had all co-operated fully, the FSAI said.
The deputy chief executive of FSAI, Mr Alan Reilly, said that potentially some of Pan Pharmaceuticals Ltd products made for other companies under contract could be distributed in Ireland under other brand names and may not carry the company name.
"These products are also subject to the same recall and we are requesting that all retailers of food supplements, vitamin and mineral products to check with their suppliers to ensure none of their products have been sourced from Pan Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
"Through this joint collaborative approach between the regulatory authorities and industry, all Pan Pharmaceuticals Ltd products are being removed swiftly from the Irish market," Mr Reilly said.