MELBOURNE, 20 July 2023: The Victoria government’s Department of Health has warned costumers to be wary of Ayurvedic medicines sold through Indian and South Asian outlets. These medicines/products, the Department says, “…that a range of Ayurvedic medications for sale in several grocery stores in Victoria contain ingredients that are scheduled poisons, some of which are prohibited for supply and use in Australia because of the danger they pose to human health. Examples include Azadirachta indica (which may be identified as “neem” or “Veppilai”) and Acorus calamus (which may be identified as “Ghodbach”, “Vacha”, “Vasambu”, or “Vat Jata”) ingredients that may indicate the presence of heavy metals.
The Department’s ‘Health Advisory’, says, ” Anyone taking Ayurvedic medicines imported from overseas or purchased in Victoria where the product does not have an ‘AUST L’ or ‘AUST R’ label should stop taking the product immediately. Patients with potential symptoms of lead poisoning should be screened for lead toxicity.
Anyone planning to purchase or use complementary medicines should look for the ARTG labels ‘AUST L’ and ‘AUST R’ to know that these medicines have been approved by the TGA for supply and use in Australia.
There is no guarantee that complementary medicines purchased online, overseas or available in grocery stores that are not on the ARTG have been manufactured to Australian standards of safety and quality. These medicines may be contaminated with chemicals, contain illegal ingredients or have the wrong amount of active ingredient. This can lead to serious health consequences.
If anyone does want to purchase online, it’s important they carefully consider the risks involved and make sure the product is genuine and safe. Some websites may have fake Australian addresses and business identifiers (ABN or ACN). All business identifiers can be searched in either the Australian Business Register (ABR) or with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).
Some online retailers may sell non-ARTG listed, out-of-date, low-quality, fake or even harmful medicines”.
Talking to South Asia Times (SAT), Dr. Santosh Yadav, Ayurvedic physician said, ” Ayurvedic medicines should be bought from a qualified Ayur doctor after consultation. No medicine should be bought from an outlet as they can have health consequences.
The Victoria government ‘Health Advisory’ is right because many such products imported from India and sold in outlets here are not of high quality. There is a chance of heavy metals being in them leading to adverse effects.”
The Department of Health says it has has recently been informed that a range of Ayurvedic medications for sale in several grocery stores in Victoria contain ingredients that are scheduled poisons, some of which are prohibited for supply and use in Australia because of the danger they pose to human health. Examples include Azadirachta indica (which may be identified as “neem” or “Veppilai”) and Acorus calamus (which may be identified as “Ghodbach”, “Vacha”, “Vasambu”, or “Vat Jata”). These ingredients that may indicate the presence of heavy metals.
Potential risks from lead, the Department says, can be acute lead poisoning which is very serious and is usually caused by a recent exposure to a high amount of lead. And, extremely high blood lead levels can cause long-term organ damage and even death.
