Pharmacies have removed a supplement from their shelves after discovering that the label “Not for EU” had been crossed out on the product’s packaging.
The product in question is Seven Seas cod liver oil. While the phrase appeared crossed out on the outer box, it was written clearly and without any redaction on the container inside.
It is undertood it was on the shelves of pharmacies across Malta.
One pharmacy chain, Brown’s, which was alerted to the issue, told Times of Malta that it had “placed the relevant batch in quarantine as a precautionary measure”.
The batch will remain off shelves until confirmation is received from the supplier and manufacturer that the specific batch was approved for sale within the EU and that the label alteration was authorised at source before the product was placed on the EU market, it said.
“We are awaiting this formal confirmation and will revert as soon as it is received,” the company said.
It remains unclear whether other pharmacies stocking the same product have been informed of the issue.
A spokesperson for wholesaler Neofarma told Times of Malta that the product was sourced from either the United Kingdom or Ireland.
The company has been importing Seven Seas products for the past 15 years, but the spokesperson said they were unaware why the label appeared on this product, describing it as a new issue that emerged this week.
As such, Neofarma has contacted the supplier to better understand the reasoning behind the label, it said.
The spokesperson added that there are other distributors of Seven Seas products in Malta, with the brand being supplied to nearly all pharmacies across the country.
Questions have also been sent to the Medicines Authority and the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (MCCAA).
Seven Seas is a UK-based brand, founded in 1935, and specialises in nutritional supplements.