Healthy Skepticism Library item: 15633

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

TGA looks into Ginkgo Biloba issues
Pharmacy Daily (Australia) - registration required 2009 May 14
http://www.pharmacydaily.com.au

Full text:

THE Therapeutic Goods Administration has proposed that an additional condition of listing be
imposed on all products on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods which contain Ginkgo Biloba
as an active ingredient, requiring a “more comprehensive analysis” of the products to ensure quality.

The statement followed a Freedom of Information inquiry made by Ken Harvey of Latrobe University, requesting details of any testing for adulteration by the TGA of Australian complementary medicines containing the ingredient.

The testing of the Ginkgo Biloba products found that about a third sold here may not contain enough
of the basic ingredient to qualify for listing, because of other compounds added during manufacture.

However rather than banning the non-compliant products, the TGA “in consultation with peak industry
bodies” has proposed the phasing in of additional analysis of data relating to the items.

The TGA said that although tests on 6 out of 20 products found “ratios that were not consistent with
those in the scientific literature,” the absence of an Australian standard means this “cannot be
considered to be non-compliant, nor is this a safety concern.”

Harvey blasted the response, saying: “it seems that the TGA is not concerned with product integrity,
truth in labelling and promotion, nor the industry ripping off unsuspecting consumers by substituting clinically inactive adulterants.”