All Ayush Medicines Now to be Brought Under FDA

KARNATAKA Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said on Monday that all medicines under the Department of Ayush, including those in Ayurvedic, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy streams, will now be brought under the drugs control wing of the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FDA).

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru

Addressing reporters here, he said this is specifically to improve the quality of traditional medicines.

He said the Health Department has reduced the time it took to recall substandard medicines from the market. Earlier, once a drug was flagged as Not of Standard Quality (NSQ), it could take up to 30 days to take it back from pharmacies and distributors. Now, that time has been cut to just two days.

Rao said this is crucial because such medicines, if left on shelves, may continue to be taken by patients, posing serious health risks. In June alone, drugs worth Rs 40.48 lakh that did not meet the safety standards were recalled and seized across the state.