Press Release

Recall of registered proprietary Chinese medicines with western drug ingredient

2 August 2010

The Department of Health (DH) today (August 2) urged members of the public not to buy or use two haircare products registered as proprietary Chinese medicines called [Zhang Guang] Gold 101 Super Effective Hair Growth Agent (Registration number: HKP-08408), and [101 Zhangguang] Zhangguang 101D Fabao (Registration number: HKP-07223) as they were found to contain a western medicine, minoxidil.

DH inspected the wholesalers this afternoon and instructed the wholesalers to recall all the batches of products from the market.

The appeal and recall order followed detection of minoxidil, a western medicine, in the products during DH's market surveillance.

Both products are manufactured on the Mainland by "Beijing Zhangguang 101 Science & Technology Development Co. Ltd". They were imported by two local licensed wholesalers, Tick Shing Hong Industrial Company Limited and Sunny Asia International Limited.

The wholesalers have set up hotlines (Tick Shing Hong Industrial Company Limited: 2578 3721; Sunny Asia International Limited: 2116 1183) to answer enquiries about the recall.

Minoxidil is a western medicine used for the treatment of hair loss. Its side effects include skin irritation, rash and itchiness. Products containing minoxidil are pharmaceutical products and must be registered with the Pharmacy and Poisons Board before it can be sold in registered pharmacies under the supervision of a registered pharmacist. Sale of unregistered pharmaceutical products is an offence under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance. The maximum penalty is a fine of $100,000 and two years' imprisonment.

Investigation is still going on and DH will monitor the recall.

A spokesman for DH said that advice from the Department of Justice would be sought for possible prosecution. The case would also be referred to the Chinese Medicines Board under the Chinese Medicine Council of Hong Kong for follow-up action.

The spokesman urged members of the public who possess the products to stop using them and seek advice from healthcare professionals if they feel unwell.