Management of traditional Chinese medicinal materials will be further strengthened; eight departments jointly issued a notice a few days ago
CNR News, Beijing, October 17 (Reporter Shen Jingwen) According to a report by China National Radio's "News and Newspaper Summary," eight departments including the State Food and Drug Administration, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the Ministry of Agriculture recently jointly issued a notice to further strengthen the management of traditional Chinese medicinal materials.
The State Food and Drug Administration recently conducted spot checks on 397 batches of traditional Chinese medicine decoction pieces, confirming that 22 batches had dyeing problems. Some of the dyed traditional Chinese medicines not only flowed to pharmacies, but also to municipal-level medical institutions such as Dongguan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Shenzhen Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Li Guoqing, head of the Drug and Cosmetics Regulation Department of the State Food and Drug Administration, said bluntly that the medical institutions that were found out were not merely victims, but at the very least accomplices to lawbreakers.
Li Guoqing: “It is clearly driven by profit. So when these medical institutions that were investigated say they are victims, that he sold it to me. I say, do not cry injustice; you are at the very least accomplices to those lawbreakers. Of course, as a regulatory department, we will continue to intensify supervision and inspection, including the intensity of sampling and testing, and in line with the principle of uncovering one batch and dealing with one batch, we will not give these lawbreakers any opportunity to exploit.”
Li Guoqing said that the eight departments will jointly strengthen the management of the cultivation and breeding of traditional Chinese medicinal materials, initial processing at production areas, and specialized markets. Apart from the existing 17 specialized markets for traditional Chinese medicinal materials, all localities may not open new specialized markets for traditional Chinese medicinal materials in the future.
Li Guoqing: “In recent years, we have consistently insisted on no longer opening new specialized markets for traditional Chinese medicinal materials. Local governments must strengthen supervision over drug quality. Whoever opens it manages it, and they must truly shoulder management responsibilities, for example, by gradually establishing an electronic traceability system for traditional Chinese medicinal materials.”