The diet pill Simply Slim has been recalled with immediate effect for safety reasons, the health department said.

"The Medicines Control Council (MCC) suspended sales of the product," said health spokesman Fidel Radebe. "It must be removed from shelves with immediate effect."

Radebe said the product should have been registered with the MCC and currently was not.

"People have been complaining about difficulties during and after the use of the product. It can be dangerous to use," he said.

Beeld newspaper reported that the slimming product, which claims to be 100 percent herbal, contained sibutramine.

According to health regulations, any pill containing sibutramine must be registered as a prescription medicine and must contain no more than 15mg sibutramine.

Beeld, quoting Dr George van der Watt, a chemical pathologist at a Cape laboratory, said tests showed Simply Slim contained 27mg of sibutramine.

Simply Slim has maintained that these are falsified Simply Slim products. Simply Slim is sold by agents who buy the product for about R350 and resell it for about R590, Beeld reported.

Side effects of sibutramine include an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.