Top 10 Imported Chinese Medicines Require Certification
Top 10 Imported Chinese Medicines Require Certification
The Committee on Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy, Department of Health(DOH), Executive Yuan, Taiwan has said that effective from August 2012, top 10 imported Chinese medicines must provide the certificate of analysis when they are imported to Taiwan.
Taiwan imports over 600 kinds of Chinese medicine, more than 90 percent of which comes from China. According to statistics conducted by DOH in 2009, 10 largest import herbs are as follows:
|
Top |
Herbs |
Metric Tons |
|
1 |
3086 | |
|
2 |
2041 | |
|
3 |
2935 | |
|
4 |
1455 | |
|
5 |
1040 | |
|
6 |
865 | |
|
7 |
851 | |
|
8 |
767 | |
|
9 |
506 | |
|
10 |
356 |
The move is part of a three-phase plan by DOH to ensure the safety of Chinese herbs and regulate the source of medication.
The first phase includes clearly labeled packaging for 324 of the approximately 600 kinds of Chinese herbs and related products on the local market.
Phase two of the plan includes establishing inspection standards for abnormal amounts of residue such as heavy metals and aflatoxins in 91 different herbs.
“Final phase of the plan is on the control of the origin by requiring the certification of herbs,10 largest import herbs by volume. Shipments that fail inspection at customs will be destroyed immediately,” said Lin-Huang Huang, chairman of the Committee on Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy under the DOH. In addition, Da Zao, Huang Qi, Dang Gui, Gan Cao will require sample inspections at customs because these four items often fail inspection standards for pesticide, heavy metals and aflatoxins.
National herbal regulations help promote the use of TCM and accelerate the entrance to global healthcare system.