Bhubaneswar: A total of 7.92 lakh units of deceptively labelled oral rehydration salt (ORS) of various companies worth around Rs 4 crore have so far been recalled from medicine stores across Odisha, an official release informed on Wednesday.
The Drugs Control Directorate launched the special drive against misleading ORS-labelled beverages around two weeks ago.
“Oral dehydration salt and liquids need to be prepared as per the formula, recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO). These are manufactured by licensed manufacturers and are generally sold in medicine stores. It has been found that some liquid packs deceptively labelled as ORS/Electrolyte are now available in the market which are not effective for managing dehydration. They are usually sold under approval of FSSAI. These packs are not suitable for clinical management of dehydration,” said Drugs Controller Mamina Patnaik.
The Health Department added that the drive would continue, and stringent action would be taken against the violators. “The drugs dealers and retailers have been asked not to store or sell these deceptively labelled packets in medicine stores,” it added.
The ban on sugar-rich beverages falsely marketed as oral rehydration solutions came in October after eight years of advocacy by Hyderabad-based paediatrician Dr Sivaranjani Santosh.