New Yorkers warned against Indian herbal products

The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in New York has warned residents not to use certain herbal medicines made in India that contain dangerously high levels of lead or mercury. Herbal products used for a range of conditions such as diabetes, colds and flu have been found to contain up to 24 300 parts per million (ppm) of lead or mercury; food additives are recommended to contain no more that 2 ppm of lead or 1 ppm of mercury. New Yorkers are being urged not to use any of the products and to seek urgent medical advice if they have done so. Retailers have been told not to sell them and the products themselves have been condemned and embargoed.

<http://www.medicalnewstoday.com>, accessed January 9, 2006