Ghana’s Food and Drugs Authority has ordered the immediate recall of Arcan Bitters from the market after laboratory analysis revealed adulteration with a prescription-only erectile dysfunction medication. The regulatory action has triggered factory closure and warnings of criminal prosecution for non-compliance.
The product, manufactured by Unni Associates Company Limited at Parkoso in the Asokore Mampong Municipality of the Ashanti Region, is registered as an alcoholic beverage with thirty-five percent alcohol by volume. Testing established the presence of Sildenafil Citrate, a Phosphodiesterase Type five inhibitor prohibited in food commodities and classified strictly for prescription use in managing erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension.
According to #MyJoyOnline, the Authority has given the manufacturer fourteen days to withdraw all stocks, announced safe disposal of seized consignments, and shut the production facility pending further investigation. The directive underscores violations under the Public Health Act, which proscribes manufacture or sale of adulterated articles deviating from prescribed standards.
The Authority warned that covert inclusion of Sildenafil poses severe health hazards, including dangerous interaction with nitrate medications leading to precipitous blood pressure reduction, stroke, cardiac arrest, as well as potential long-term visual and auditory impairment. Consumers have been strongly advised to desist from purchase or consumption while retailers must comply and report violators.
This enforcement aligns with intensified surveillance of the bitters segment, where unverified aphrodisiac claims have proliferated among youthful consumers. The FDA reiterated that no bitters product in Ghana has been approved as a sexual enhancer, urging public vigilance and responsible manufacturing conduct.
Source: FDA
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Author: Korkor Anumu
