Industry challenges Pan recall

The New Zealand health products industry is getting legal advice over the legality of a recall of hundreds of health supplements made by Australian company Pan Pharmaceuticals.

About 16 key health products industry representatives met yesterday to discuss concerns over the recall which has affected New Zealand's $300-million-a-year complementary medicines industry.

National Nutritional Food Association spokesman Bill Bracks said that the organisation was seeking legal advice over the recall's legality, which he said was costing tens of millions of dollars.

He expected to get the legal opinion within a day.

Mr Bracks said supporting evidence had not been provided about the recall. The fallout was hurting all suppliers, not just Pan.

He said Australian regulators provided "hearsay" evidence to New Zealand.

"Normally you have to produce evidence of potential harm."

All health product producers were being hit by the recall.

"People are highly anxious and as a consequence of that they ring the regulators ... and they say don't take the product, just in case.

"Everyone gets tarred with the one brush."

A campaign to reassure consumers that other products were safe is being launched.

Health 2000 marketing director Tom Bleier said the industry was starting to recover from the recall but it had been badly hurt.

He also criticised the recall, saying it was a gross over-reaction as none of the recalled supplements had been proved to be unsafe.

More than 2000 products Pan Products have been recalled, of which between 700 and 800 are 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