Drug watchdog the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued the recall notice after a small number of pills were found to be ‘discoloured’.
The precautionary recall was for two batches of paracetamol 500mg doses made by Chelonia Healthcare Limited.
Officials urged patients to check if they had received any batches with the code 2312010 and 2312011 which can be found on the packaging.
The affected batches have an expiry date of the 30th and 31st of November 2027 and were distributed earlier this year.
‘The tablets should be “white capsule-shaped tablets, scored on one side”,’ the recall notice reads.
‘If you find tablets that are discoloured in any way, in pots from the listed batches, please contact your pharmacist or the healthcare professional who dispensed your prescription.’
Officials also said patients who many have taken the medication and experience an ‘adverse reaction’ to seek medical attention.
Packs of the over-the-counter painkiller paracetamol have been recalled over fears some may be ‘contaminated’. Stock image
The MHRA added that the specific batches of this medication can only be obtained from a pharmacy with a prescription.
Medics have also been told to stop issuing any remaining supply of the batches while an investigation is underway.
The recall notice did not detail what risk, if any, taking the medication could pose.
However, previous cases of discoloured paracetamol tablets have been linked to fungal contamination.
A similar recall was issued in Europe in 2019 after some batches of the medication were found to be contaminated with a strain called Penicillium citrinum.
Paracetamol is one of the most commonly taken medications in the UK, with some studies estimating 6,500 tonnes of the drug is sold in Britain each year, equivalent to 70 tablets per person every year.
While it is commonly bought over-the-counter the painkiller is still prescribed on the NHS.
Health service data shows over a million prescriptions of the drug are issued by the NHS in England every month at a cost of over £5million.
