The National Administration of Medicines, Food and Medical Technology (Anmat) prohibited this Wednesday, through the Official Gazette, the marketing of two dietary products made by the “Makam Food” brand, due to lack of documentation and the corresponding authorizations in the country.
Through provision 6726, the agency prohibited the sale of “Psyllium Husk (Plantago ovata)”, a natural soluble fiber, obtained from an Asian herb, which is often used as the main substitute for gluten-free baked goods. It also restricted “Epsom salt or magnesium sulfate,” commonly known as hydrated salt.
The agency made the decision after a complaint from a consumer who exposed the lack of information on the packaging. In the first case, the pysyllum husk appeared as being made by Makam Food in Argentina, while, in the case of Epsom Salt, the Sociedad Comercial Australis was also cited, and originated in Chile.
The Department of Authorization and Foreign Food Trade reported that it did not have records of Epsom Salt, originating in Santiago de Chile, nor of its importation. Likewise, the Department of Hygiene and Food Safety of the city of Buenos Aires also reported that it had no data regarding Epsom Salt, despite the fact that the Argentine capital was indicated as a production site.
After corroborating the lack of data, Anmat reported a “federal incident” in the module of the Food Surveillance Information System. In addition, the entity had already banned two products from “Makam Food” previously. In 2018, the agency restricted “Matcha Tea”, made in Chile, and in 2021, “SuperMix Detox Chlorella + Cilantro + Alfalfa, made in Peru.
Along these lines, the agency pointed out that the prohibition of “Psyllium Husk” and Epsom Salt is justified in that they could not be identified “reliably and clearly as produced, processed and/or fractionated in a specific establishment” .
Thus, the Anmat argued the restriction “in order to protect the health of citizens against the consumption of illegal products, since they are food products that lack registration, which is why their traceability, their conditions of elaboration, its quality with adequate levels of control under the conditions established by current regulations and its innocuousness”.