NEW YORK, NEW YORK, December 22, 2006: The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) has banned at least three herbal medicine products made in India, saying they contained “dangerous levels” of lead and mercury and warned residents against their use. “Though there are no specific federal standards, the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies recommends that certain food additives contain no more than 2 ppm (parts per million) of lead and no more than 1 ppm of mercury,” the DOHMH said in a release. The three medicines identified by the department are – Jambrulin (24,300 ppm of Lead), made by Unjha Ayurvedic Pharmacy and used for diabetes and sugar control; Lakshmivilash Ras (Nardiya) (14,100 ppm of mercury), made by Baidyanath and used for chronic fever, cold, and cough; and Maha Sudarshan (2,190 ppm of mercury) made by Arya Aushadhi Pharmaceutical Works and used for flu and body ache.
As part of the investigation that began this summer, DOHMH officials visited retail stores serving South Asian residents and purchased Indian products that had been identified in recent research studies and case reports as containing lead or mercury. “Laboratory tests showed that the above products, purchased in stores in Jackson Heights and Flushing, contain dangerous levels of lead or mercury. Lead and mercury were not listed on the products as ingredients. The sale of products deemed to contain poisonous substances or to be detrimental to human health is prohibited under New York City Health Code,” the department said. The department has advised people who may have obtained these products to immediately stop using these products, call a physician to request a blood lead test and mercury urine test and keep products away from children.