New York bans sale of 3 Indian herbal products

New York City has banned the sale of three Indian herbal products and advised people against using them, claiming they contain dangerous levels of lead or mercury.

Though there are no specific federal standards, the food and nutrition board of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies recommends that foods contain no more than 2 ppm (parts per million) of lead and no more than one ppm of mercury.

The New York City department of health and mental hygiene (DoHMH) says on testing, it has found that "Jambrulin made by Unjha Ayurvedic Pharmacy contains 24,300 ppm of lead, Lakshmivilash Ras (nardiya) made by Baidyanath contains 14,100 ppm of mercury and Maha Sundarshan made by Arya Aushadhi Pharmaceutical Works contains 2,190 ppm of mercury".

Jambrulin is used for diabetes and sugar control, Lakshmivilash Ras (nardiya) for chronic fever, cold, and cough and Maha Sudarshan for flu and body ache.

DoHMH said it began an investigation during the last summer and purchased products from retail stores serving South Asian residents.

On testing, it found that three contained high amounts of lead or mercury but they were not listed among the ingredients. Under city law, sale of products deemed to contain poisonous substances or substances deemed to be detrimental to human health is prohibited.