The Food and Drug Authority’s (FDA) has prohibited the sale of ‘loose packed’ drugs that do not meet its standards of labelling.

The FDA released a statement noting hefty sale of such drugs at local pharmacies and advised against it. It said such trade has become commonplace in local pharmacies, alternative medicine clinics, and Dhivehi Beys physicians.

According to the local standard prescription format, pharmaceuticals sold here should carry its brand, its generic name, the name of the company that produced it, its total weight, prescription details including dose and period of usage, its date of expiration, and batch number.