WE REFER to the letter, "HSA should test supplements" (my paper, Oct 28), wherein Mr David Soh Poh Huat raised concerns on the integrity of the specified ingredients in health supplements.

All importers and dealers of health supplements are responsible for the safety, quality and effectiveness of the supplements that they import, sell or manufacture.

Accordingly, they would be liable for any consumer who is harmed by their products, or who has been misled in any way by their labelling.

There are also regulations under the Poisons Act and Medicines Act to ensure that health supplements do not contain any potent chemical drugs or make claims to treat or cure any serious diseases or medical conditions.

On Mr Soh's suggestion that label claims of health supplement ingredients be verified, this issue will be part of our ongoing review of the regulatory framework on health supplements.

The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) adopts a risk-based approach in regulating different
health products in Singapore. Health supplements, which contain ingredients such as vitamins, minerals, herbs, and other substances from natural sources, are generally of lower inherent risk than Western medicines containing potent chemical ingredients, and we focus on products that are more likely to be adulterated.

HSA carries out regular post-market surveillance to check on the safety of products being sold.

Our system picks up adverse-event signals from doctors if their patients experience side effects after using the health products.

HSA will take quick action to warn the public, investigate and, in severe cases, recall products that may be causing unexpected side effects.

While it is not practical for HSA to test all products, and no country has taken such an approach, regular sampling is carried out and higher-risk products are tested to exclude adulteration with, for example, potent chemical drugs.

If problems are detected, we will conduct a recall of the product from the market, and can
take punitive action against the dealer when necessary.

Mr Soh is welcome to contact Mrs Marie Tham of HSA's Complementary Health Products Division on 6866-3450 for further clarification.

Mr Yee Shen Kuan
Division Director
Complementary Health
Products Division
Health Sciences Authority

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