Over 2 million Hong Thai herbal products seized after Thailand raids illegal factories

SINGAPORE: More than two million Hong Thai herbal inhalers have been seized by Thai authorities from illegal factories, local media reported on Friday (Oct 31), days after the company issued a recall for its product for failing health quality tests.

Hong Thai Herbal on Tuesday recalled a batch of its popular Formula 2 brand of herbal inhaler after it failed to meet the required standards in microbial contamination tests conducted by Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Police investigations found that although Hong Thai Herbal had a manufacturing licence for a factory in Bangkok, the company had been producing the products at another facility without FDA approval, Thai news outlet The Nation reported.

The FDA on Thursday raided four illegal production and storage sites located in Bangkok, seizing more than 2.3 million herbal products - including about 400,000 Formula 2 inhalers - worth over 100 million baht (US$3.09 million).

FDA Secretary-General Supatra Boonserm told Thai media on Friday that the authorities had warned Hong Thai Herbal to apply for the required permits for those facilities, but this was ignored. 

The facilities had been operating illegally for about three years, she said, adding that the FDA will initiate a recall of all unsafe or unlicensed herbal inhalers related to this case.

“The contaminated Hong Thai herbal inhalers found at these four unauthorised facilities come in various formulations and production batches,” said Supatra told The Nation. 

“Products made in such illegal sites cannot be guaranteed for safety or quality and may contain hazardous substances harmful to health.”

She urged consumers to exercise caution when purchasing herbal products, and check for signs of irregularity or unauthorised labelling.

Thai authorities will also conduct random inspections at pharmacies nationwide to ensure that the recalled products are no longer available for sale.

Thai PBS reported that Hong Thai Herbal founder and owner Thiraphong Rabuetham said the firm had not been contacted by FDA officials about its herbal inhalers. He added that his company had not yet applied for a production licence for one of the raided facilities.

Hong Thai Herbal earlier in the week said it had strengthened and upgraded its production processes and added additional quality control steps at every stage, including ultraviolet (UV) sterilisation, to ensure that all future products released to the market are safe, hygienic and compliant with health standards.

In Thailand, anyone who produces a substandard herbal product is liable to imprisonment of up to two years, a fine of up to 200,000 baht or both.

Those who sell such substandard herbal products may be jailed for up to six months, fined up to 50,000 baht, or both.