Cough medicine recalled

Press, 28 August 1986, Page 3

Cough medicine recalled

Retailers are being asked to return stocks of Buckley’s Canadiol Mixture after reports that the cough medicine contained crystals. The mixture is made by an Auckland company, David Sparks, Ltd. According to a director of the company, Mr Bill Kittelty, two batches totalling 20,000 bottles in 100 ml and 200 ml sizes are suspect.

The scare started after a complaint to the Health Department that the mixture contained glass de : posits. Laboratory tests had shown the deposits were menthyol crystals, Mr Kittelty said. “We thought it might have been the cold weather, but this has not happened before (in New Zealand),” he said.

Menthyol had caused the mixture to crystalise in extremely cold conditions in Canada, but New Zealand temperatures were nowhere near that cold, he said. The final results of the laboratory tests would be available by next week, Mr Kittelty said. He said withdrawing the batches from the market was only a precautionary measure as the deposits were not harmful and would break up when a bottle was shaken.

Less than 300, bottles have been returned so far.

Mr Kittelty said the first batch was distributed in May last year, and it was quite likely that most stocks had been sold. The other batch was distributed in May this year.