The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seeking legal action against Pimradaporn Benjawattanapat, an online trader better known as "Pimrypie", for offering a set of antigen test kits (ATK) as a free gift to purchasers of her mineral water.
Dr Surachok Tangwiwat, the FDA deputy secretary-general, said his office would ask the Consumer Protection Police Division (CPPD) to look into Pimrypie's advertisements for her mineral water on Facebook Live.
In the live stream, Pimrypie said whoever bought a 300cc-bottle of her mineral water would get a set of antigen test kits (ATK) as a free gift.
Dr Surachok said the the FDA had examined the broadcast and found it might be against the law.
He said sale and distribution of ATKs are allowed only at clinics and drugstores under the supervision of pharmacists. Before an ATK product can be sold, the distributor must submit a request with the FDA to register the product, which wil only occur after quality checks.
A seller or distributor of an ATK product that has not been properly registered and approved by the FDA, he said, is liable to a jail term of up to six months or a fine of up to 50,000 baht, or both.
The ATK product advertised by Pimrypie had not been registered with the FDA, Dr Surachok said.
The FDA would send a letter to the CPPD asking it to determine whether Pimrypie had acted illegally. If so, legal action should be taken against her, he said.
.png?w=600)
