In April 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the agency had requested manufacturers of prescription and over-the-counter ranitidine (Zantac) medications immediately withdraw the medication from the market. As part of an ongoing investigation, public health officials determined the medication exposes consumers to unacceptable levels of the carcinogen N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA).
U.S. Food and Drug administration testing and evaluation confirm that levels of the carcinogen N-Nitrosodimethylamine, (NDMA) in ranitidine medications (Zantac) increase even under ordinary storage conditions. NDMA levels increase even more significantly when the medication is exposed to higher temperatures, including during distribution and handling by consumers.
NDMA levels were also found to increase the older the products were, and the longer time had passed since manufacturing.