A survey of traditional Chinese medicine conducted by the Consumers’ Foundation showed that 16.3 percent of products contained Western medicine and one sample had excessive levels of the toxic heavy metal mercury.
Foundation chairman Alan Lu (陸雲) yesterday told a press conference in Taipei that according to the survey conducted late last year, the amount of Western medicine mixed in with Chinese medicine was 8.5 percent, urging the government to take action.
Lu said the sources of the samples were from individual consumers who took Chinese medicine to the foundation for testing. Seventeen of 104 samples tested were found to contain Western medicine such as the compunds piroxicam, hydrochlorothiazide, thiamine disulfide, acetaminophen and caffeine.
A total of 18 types of Western medicine were detected, Lu said.
Chinese herbal medicine is usually relatively mild, but some companies mix in Western medicine to increase the speed of its therapeutic effect, he said, adding that if consumers who are already taking Western medicine take Chinese medicine containing Western medicine without their knowledge they could suffer adverse reactions from mixing drugs.
The foundation said it also found that a Chinese medicine product claiming to be a treatment for nose bleeds contained up to 1,000 parts per million (ppm) of mercury — far in excess of the legal limit of 30ppm.
Long-term exposure to toxic heavy metals can lead to chronic poisoning. Excessive exposure to mercury can cause negative effects to the digestive and nervous systems, the foundation said.
The survey found that four of six samples “from China,” eight of 22 samples “received from friends or relatives” and two of 13 samples “bought by other people on request” contained Western medicine.
In response, the Food and Drug Administration said that because the foundation’s samples were supplied by individual consumers, most of it could have come from unknown sources overseas.
The administration urged the public to not take Chinese medicine bought from an unknown source, but on prescription from a doctor.
Chinese herbal medicine can be contaminated by heavy metals, pesticides or microbes in the soil in which it is grown, the administration said, adding that imported medicine must have a standard examination report attached and pass a random test before it can be sold in stores.
Based on local health departments’ inspections of 229 Chinese medicine products and 367 ingredients last year, only one product and two ingredients failed the examinations, it added.
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