The Drug Administration of Vietnam has ordered the Ho Chi Minh City Drug Testing Institute to conduct tests on five types of Rohto eye drops made and distributed in the country after a recall for the products was launched in the US last week.
The affected products are Rohto® Arctic, Rohto® Ice, Rohto® Hydra, Rohto® Relief and Rohto® Cool eye drops that were made by the Vietnam facility of Mentholatum Company.
The administration also requested that products exported to the US be tested as well.
On January 16, Mentholatum Company announced that it was conducting an US-wide voluntary recall on the retail level of Rohto® Arctic, Rohto® Ice, Rohto® Hydra, Rohto® Relief and Rohto® Cool eye drops that were made in Vietnam.
The New York-based company pressed that the recall “includes only products that were manufactured in Vietnam and does not include eye drops made in Japan.”
The recall came after a manufacturing review at the production facility in Vietnam involving sterility controls, the company said.
“To date, there has been no evidence indicating that the product does not meet specifications; however, the company is taking this action as a precautionary measure,” Mentholatum said.
The lot numbers for products made in Vietnam will include the letter "V," as in "Lot 3E1V," and are located on the bottom panel of the carton as well as on the bottom of the eye drop bottle. The Vietnamese-made products can also be identified by the words "Made in Vietnam" on the side carton panel under the company name, the company said.
Meanwhile, products manufactured in Japan are not included in this recall and continue to be available to consumers.
The product is sold over-the-counter at pharmacies and retail stores across the US, and Mentholatum Company has notified its distributors and retailers by letter to halt distribution and follow instructions included in the recall letter.