Natural Shampoo Recalled

On January 14, 2010 Health Canada issued a recall notice for all lots of Hesh Aritha Powder – The Natural Shampoo for your Hair, sold under UPC 8901701104108. Approximately 1,300 units of this product were sold in total from 2003 to 2010 at various retailers in Alberta, British Columbia, and Manitoba and from 2007 to 2010 at various retailers the Greater Toronto Area.

The product was found to be contaminated with high numbers of microbial growth, including Klebsiella pneumonia, Escherichia hermannii, Pantoea species, Enterobacter cloacae, and mold.  Coliforms such as Enterobacter cloacae can be found in the feces of many birds and mammals, including humans. Contamination of products with mold and bacteria such as coliforms are clear indicators that this product has been manufactured or stored under poor sanitary conditions. Although not specifically identified, Health Canada warns that the presence of these contaminants suggests that other pathogens of fecal origin may also be present.

The concern with a contaminated product sold in a powdered form, such as Hesh Aritha Powder, is that these pathogens may be introduced into the body through inhalation or open wounds. To date, Health Canada states that they have not received any reports of incidents or illnesses related to the use of this product.

Hesh Aritha Powder is marketed as an Ayurvedic Treatment for Hair and is sold as a natural cleansing agent for hair, skin, laundry, washing silk, woolen clothes, silver and gold ornaments and utensils.

Hesh Pharma, the creator of this product, was established in India in 1978 with the claim of being dedicated to fostering the revival and growth of Ayurveda. An excerpt from the Hesh Pharma website states, “As a matter of principle, the Company has always adhered to using purest raw material and processing them in an infrastructure that’s absolutely state-of-the-art”; a bold statement in light of the recent contaminant findings.

Ayurveda is a form of traditional medicine that originated in India and is used widely by people of Indian decent all over the globe. In recent years, traditional forms of medicine have grown in popularity with people from all cultures. In an effort to escape the hold that many Canadians feel Big Pharma has placed on our society, people reach out to homeopathy, acupuncture, Ayurveda and other types of traditional treatments in an attempt to move back toward more natural forms of healing.

Many natural health products pose much less of a risk to your health than their pharmaceutical counterparts and a natural health product has never been determined to be the cause of any death in Canada, which is something that cannot be said of pharmaceutical medicines. For these reasons, the word “natural” is often thought of as being synonymous with the word harmless.

This, unfortunately, is not the case. A natural remedy taught to you by your grandmother such as hot water with ginger and brown sugar to cure a sore throat is not the same as purchasing a natural health product that was manufactured in a factory. Many factories which produce natural health products, whether in Canada or overseas, maintain very high levels of cleanliness and work hard to prove to consumers and to Health Canada and other regulatory agencies that they are just as capable of adhering to government regulations as the pharmaceutical industry is. It is unfortunate when one company’s acts serve to tarnish the reputation of an industry already in the position of David against Goliath.