BEIJING, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- China's drug watchdog has vowedtighter supervision over the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)material market and severe punishment for irregularities.
The China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) made the commentsin a statement after unnannounced inspections exposed misconduct invarious regions, ranging from artificial coloring,weight-increasing practices, illegal processing and contaminationby counterfeit or substandard ingredients.
Sold by weight and mostly processed from plants and animalsparts, TCM ingredients are often altered through deceptivepractices such as soaking them in salt water to increase theirweight and mixing them with cheap but similar materials.
"Illegal practices in the sales of TCM materials must be wipedout so as to cleanse the market," it said, adding that cases ofwrongdoings constituting crimes must be immediately transferred topolice departments for further management.
The CFDA promised to increase the frequency of sample checks aswell as unannounced and anonymous inspections while making moreefforts to deal with clues offered by whistleblowers. Enditem
