200 tonnes of toxic herbs flood China markets
June 9th, 2011 - 2:53 pm ICT by IANSBeijing, June 9 (IANS) An estimated 200 tonnes of herbs contaminated by a banned chemical have entered the Chinese market, a media report said Thursday.
Herbs of chrysanthemum, often used in tea and medicine, were reportedly dried using sulphur dioxide, a prohibited preservative that can cause sickness, the China Daily reported.
Dubbed the “herbal town”, Yangma in Jiangsu province produces around 2,000 tonnes of chrysanthemums each year. Nearly 200 tonnes of the herb produced this year were found to be contaminated, officials said.
Sulphur dioxide was banned in China in 2005.
“Farmers using sulphur-drying methods can make more profit, saving the cost of electricity and coal as much as 4,000 yuan ($600) to 5,000 yuan per tonne,” an official said.
The sulphur-dried herbs sold well because they cannot be detected by common people, he said.
- 11 trapped in China coal mine - Apr 27, 2012
- Chinese firm builds 200-million-tonne coal base - Jan 05, 2012
- China most likely to be affected by 2011 EU herbal medicine ban - Dec 30, 2010
- Hundreds of herbal medicines to be banned in UK next year - Dec 31, 2010
- 20-year-old Chinese n-plant totally safe - Nov 27, 2011
- Chinese police hunt for suspect in armed robbery - Jan 06, 2012
- Nine dead in China coal mine accident - Apr 24, 2012
- China to have cloud computing base - Aug 22, 2011
- Industry chamber seeks transparency in coal allocation - Oct 11, 2011
- $8 mn burglary exposes corrupt Chinese official - Dec 22, 2011
- China busts gang for selling gutter oil - May 05, 2012
- Taiwan destroys two tonnes of chemical-tainted drinks - Jun 12, 2011
- 26 trapped in China coal mine - Aug 23, 2011
- China spends $79 mn from lottery on poor - Jan 27, 2012
- 200,000 ancient coins found in China - Jun 05, 2011
Tags: beijing, china daily, china markets, chinese market, chrysanthemums, coal, common people, cost of electricity, dried herbs, farmers, flood, jiangsu province, medicine, preservative, sulphur dioxide, tea, tonnes, yuan