China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) will launch a six-month nationwide crackdown on fake ingredients used in traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) and illegal online drug sales, as part of its first major action to improve the country’s drug safety since the establishment of the CFDA.

Li Guoqing, who heads the cosmetic regulatory department at the CFDA, said most of the problems they have encountered during daily supervision inspections came from TCM.

Major problems lie in the small output of TCM raw materials and substandard processing. Some manufacturers even use inferior herbs or illegal extracts instead of ingredients which meet proper standards.

Yan Jiangying, a CFDA spokeswoman, said that the safety actions will focus on combating the illegal production of TCM and chemical medicine. It will crackdown on the use of substandard or fake raw materials and contaminated herbs, weight-gain dyeing and adulteration, the purchase of extracts from illegal channels and label changing on outsourced illegal medicine.

Because of the concealment and convenience of online transactions, illegal online sales including releasing false information, exaggerating efficacy, and selling fake drugs have become a serious social concern.

Online drug sales in China have a strict access system. So far there are 95 websites recognized by the CFDA. Those who are certified to work within the Internet drug information service or drug trade, once they are revealed to be publishing false drug information or engaging in illegal drug trade, will be ordered to suspend their business for rectification. People who sell fake drugs will be held criminally responsible. Sites operating without proper qualifications will be punished and shut down.

The CFDA will launch a joint action with the National Internet Information Office, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Public Security and the State Administration of Industry and Commerce against illegal online drug sales beginning early August.