CHCC not affected by recalls vs Losartan
The Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. affirmed yesterday that a recent recall on a blood pressure maintenance drug does not affect its pharmacy.
CHCC public information officer Samantha Babauta-Birmingham said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recall of Losartan does not affect CHCC’s pharmacy.
“Our pharmacy has not received a spoiled batch of Losartan and therefore has not had to do any recalls,” Babauta said in an email message to Saipan Tribune.
Saipan Tribune reached out to CHCC last Nov. 21, to ask about the Losartan recall. National media outlets have noted that some pills contain an impurity known as N-nitrosodiethylamine, or NDEA.
NDEA is a probable human carcinogen, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The batch of Losartan drugs that were reportedly contaminated was contained in lot number JB8912 that are composed of 100 milligram/25 milligram tablets.
Sandoz Inc., a company that develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes pharmaceutical products, issued a voluntary nationwide recall last Nov. 8, 2018, of one lot of Losartan due to the detection of NDEA impurity in the pill.
“This impurity, which is a substance that occurs naturally in certain foods, drinking water, air pollution, and industrial processes, has been classified as a probable human carcinogen as per International Agency for Research on Cancer,” the company noted in the FDA website.
Alongside the Losartan recall, the FDA also reported that an E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce has affected 43 people in 12 states in the U.S. while an additional 22 people in Canada have become ill.
With the new announcement, CHCC last Monday issued a warning advising against the consumption of romaine lettuce and retailers and restaurants to not serve the vegetable “…until we learn more about the outbreak.”
According to the statement, CHCC noted that the FDA is currently tracing the source of the romaine lettuce eaten by the people who became sick.
CHCC advises the public to not eat romaine lettuce that is in their possession and to discard it, regardless if some had been eaten and no one has gotten sick.
“This…includes all types or uses of romaine lettuce, such as whole heads of romaine, hearts of romaine, and bags and boxes of precut lettuce and salad mixes that contain romaine, including baby romaine, spring mix, and Caesar salad,” the statement warned, adding that if it is unknown whether a salad contains romaine lettuce, it would be much safer to discard it altogether.
