Illegal TCM workshops discovered in N China

ANGUO, Hebei - An investigation by food and drug safety regulators has revealed the existence of multiple workshops that illegally store and process traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

In the city of Anguo in north China's Hebei province, the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) found many workshops that are not properly equipped and that do not maintain proper sanitation practices

One of the workshops, located in the village of Bawu, was found to be forging its own approval certificates, the administration said.

Similar workshops were found in other villages in the city.

Chinese law stipulates that units or individuals who do not have production licenses are not allowed to produce certain types of TCM. Those that do are not allowed to purchase production materials from unlicensed dealers.

The administration's investigators also found that banned pesticides are widely used to grow medicinal herbs in Anguo.

The administration said it will work with other ministries and administrations to monitor TCM production more closely.