TCM firm says seized medicines could be fake

Tong Ren Tang, a centuries-old pharmaceutical company producing traditional Chinese medicines, has denied it had anything to do with a batch of high-end dietary supplements which were recalled in Hong Kong for containing excessive levels of mercury.

The Hong Kong Health Department recalled a batch of proprietary Chinese medicine, pills of Jiantiwubuwan, on May 7 after a sample, manufactured in mainland and sold only in Hong Kong, was found to contain about five times the permitted levels of mercury.

"The medicine is indicated for health maintenance in adults, but its ingredients could not account for the presence of mercury," an HK Health Department spokesman said in a statement.

Media reports claimed that the Beijing-based TCM group insisted that the recalled products were not produced by the company, and could possibly be fake, as it tried to allay public fears.

Its subsidiary, Tong Ren Tang Chinese Medicine Co Ltd, debuted on the Hong Kong stock exchange on May 7.

"We have checked ourselves and found no problems. We would not export the goods if there were any problems with them," a Tong Ren Tang official, surnamed Zhao, said.

But officials with the Hong Kong Health Department said it was unlikely that the products were fakes as they clearly had registrations and licenses on them, the Guangzhou-based Time Weekly newspaper reported yesterday.

The supplements were produced by Tong Ren Tang Technologies Co Ltd and imported by Beijing Tong Ren Tang Hong Kong Medicine Management Ltd for the Hong Kong market, according to the newspaper.

Zhao said the Hong Kong Health Department had double checked the products on May 7. Details of the probe will be available in two to three weeks.

He refused to disclose any more details.

Shi Lichen, a partner of Beijing-based Allpku Consulting Co, said the supplements could have been contaminated during production. Tainted raw materials, dirty machines or contact with other medicines in the production line could lead to such cases, he said.