PETALING JAYA: Weng Seng Heng Medical Hall Sdn Bhd, the local distributor of cough syrup Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa has clarified that the product has been legally sold in the Philippines with a Food and Drug Administration certificate valid from March 31, 2023 to May 21, 2027.
Its marketing manager Steve Ng said: “To be registered, the product has to follow the Philippines’ labelling law, which it does.”
He was commenting on a report in theSun on July 30 in which Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Specialist Children’s Hospital chief pharmacist Ong Aik Liang expressed alarm about consuming food items laced with medicines and warned the public to be cautious.
Ong was giving his views on homegrown ice cream chain Inside Scoop’s use of Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa, also known as Cap Ibu dan Anak cough syrup, as topping for its vanilla ice cream.
Within hours of theSun’s report, the Health Ministry banned the use of the cough syrup in food preparations and ordered Inside Scoop to withdraw the product from all its outlets.
As a result of the ministry’s rebuke, Inside Scoop apologised via its social media platforms for selling ice cream containing cough syrup and announced that sales of the controversial flavour had been halted with immediate effect.
Ng told theSun that Inside Scoop’s use of Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa in its ice cream in the first place was a decision it made independently.
“Neither (the manufacturer) Nin Jiom Medicine Mfy (HK) Ltd nor Weng Seng Heng Medical Hall have engaged in any discussion or agreed on any partnership with Inside Scoop (to use our product in its ice cream).”
Ng further claimed that the Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare has not banned Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa, despite not being able to provide the necessary documentation with letterhead, stamp or signature attesting to this.
“The document which we provided to theSun proves that Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa is not banned in Taiwan. It does not contain a letterhead, stamp or signature because this is how it was when we downloaded it from the Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare website.
“Since our product has not been banned, we are definitely not in a position to make an official request to the ministry directly for the information requested. We hope you understand that this is an impossible action to take, and we trust that documents available from the ministry’s official website are good enough as proof,” Ng said.
Meanwhile, the Singapore Food Agency yesterday reassured consumers that Pei Pa Koa flavoured food products are generally safe, “but should be consumed in moderation”.
Pei Pa Koa, also known as Pi Pa Gao, is a traditional herbal syrup used to relieve coughs and soothe sore throats. It is classified as a “Chinese Proprietary Medicine” and is regulated by the Singapore Health Sciences Authority.
