A Georgia company accused of falsely marketing a dietary supplement called “Amoxilina” as the similarly named antibiotic has recalled the product from stores, the Food and Drug Administration announced.
The recall follows a court filing by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott alleging that Multimex Distributions Inc. and its Houston-based wholesale distributor, San Martin Distributing Inc., deceived Hispanic consumers into believing they were buying the widely used antibiotic amoxicillin. The Spanish word for amoxicillin is “amoxicilina.”
“From the product’s name to its packaging, there was a clear attempt to confuse Texas families and mislead purchasers into thinking they were buying antibiotics,” Abbott said in a news release. Both Amoxilina and amoxicillin are sold in sky-blue and white boxes and, according to Abbott’s suit, the packaging for Amoxilina had text in Spanish stating it has natural antibiotic properties.
Multimex owner Sandra Salazar has said her company wasn’t trying to deceive anyone. “I don’t know why they say we are misleading people,” she told the Associated Press last week.
An FDA safety alert says Multimex is now recalling Amoxilina in both its capsule and liquid forms.
The supplement is not thought to be dangerous by itself but officials have warned that giving it in the mistaken belief it is amoxicillin could delay needed medical treatment. The Texas Department of State Health Services started an investigation after learning that the parents of four children who were treated in April at an Austin hospital had mistakenly given them Amoxilina.
“It is literally putting the lives of children at risk,” Abbott said.
As the Austin American-Statesman reports, the attorney general said part of the confusion over Amoxilina stems from the availability of over-the-counter antibiotics in Mexico, an option not available in the U.S. He is seeking civil penalties of up to $20,000 for each box sold.
