It seems that even what is good for us is bad for us this time, as we have been taking our medicine blissfully unaware that the gelatin capsules we swallow contain a carcinogen used in leather tanning agents.

The scandal exposed by the media on April 13, no doubt ruined many people's appetites over the past few days, as it was revealed that some pharmaceutical companies, including some nationally famous ones, used gelatin made from waste leather scraps.

Although dozens were arrested and tons of contaminated pills confiscated, we wonder "will it be enough"?

@Diyicanjingribao Official Weibo account of China Business News  

The constant food and drug scandals have enraged the public. All the companies involved in the scandal must apologize openly to the patients and to the public. In fact, they should do much more than just say "sorry". Government officials who are in charge of medical supervision should undoubtedly take the responsibility. Our society has had enough of this.

@Wangpang Sina Weibo user 

Commenting on the capsule scandal, Wu Zhen, Deputy Commissioner of the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA),said that we should impose severe punishments on those found guilty of dereliction of duty. All the food and drug safty problems exposed in recent years, without any exception, have proved the ineffectiveness of SFDA. Obviously, SFDA has also been affilicted with "dereliction of duty" problems. SFDA should punish themselves before imposing punishments on those companies.

@Carolnini Sina Weibo user 

We can't solely blame those companies for a lack of responsibility. There are also problems with regulations, supervision and enforcement of punishment . Why is unsafe food always there? Is there any difference between producing unsafe food and committing murder? While a few people may lose their lives in a murder, the damage to our society caused by unsafe food and drug can be a lot worse than that. Have we taken tough measures? Have we done a good job in supervision? That's the whole point.

@Wuyuesanren Pen name of Yao Bo, a popular columnist and social commentator 

The primary reason why these black-heart Chinese businessmen dare to make fake and poisonous goods is that they have no sense of social responsibility. Rights and responsibilities are like two sides of the same coin. Few people can assume their responsibility in a society without rights. A civil society is a society where rights come with reciprocal responsibilities while a non-civil society is where people degenerate to lie to each other.

@Xuxin Law professor at Beijing Institute of Technology 

A day for Chinese people: In the morning they put on counterfeit sportswear, buy half a kilo bread stick fried in gutter oil, and then cut in halves two duck eggs stained with Sudan Red and have a cup of melamine-tainted milk. At noon they have stir-fried water injection pork with pesticide leeks, poisonous pig's blood and a bowl of stale rice. Back to office they make a pot of flavor tea. After work they cook a fish contaminated by contraceptive pills, drink some fake baijing and eat a piece of sulfur bread. At night they are covered with a black-hearted quilt - low quality quilt made by black-heart businessmen - and dream of tegong products - special supplies.

@Zhaoshilinweibo Professor of Religion at Minzu University of China

The scandal should provide the impetus to completely solve the food and drug safety problems. People have every reason to question the government. How should the officials explain to its people and what responsibilities should they shoulder when faced with such a serious incident? People should not get too numb with the scandals, but create a great pressure of public opinion on the government to root out the food and drug safety problems that have endangered people's lives for years.

Although no deaths have yet been linked with the capsules, that does not mean that the capsules are harmless and those responsible can rest easy. The question, as ever, is why the industry watchdog was the last to bark?

The Chinese Pharmacopoeia sets a clear standard for capsules, and drug producers are only allowed to purchase capsules from licensed manufacturers.

Once again it is necessary to ask the relevant watchdogs and the food and drug administration to fulfill their responsibilities.