With the increasing usage of Chinese herbs in North America, scrutiny by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA), the Federal and State agricultural departments, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have become intense.
Because of this scrutiny, legitimate suppliers of Chinese herbs to herbalists and acupuncturists realized they had to meet Western quality standards of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and pharmaceutical-level production. Since then safeguards have been put in place so that consumers can be assured that Chinese herbs are of the highest quality.
The three biggest issues in the media around Chinese herbs are counterfeit, low-quality OTC remedies, heavy metal contamination, and pesticide levels.
Real OTC patent remedies have stamps, seals, and marks on their packaging and are usually sourced through reputable distributors. These high-quality remedies are found in practitioner’s offices and dispensaries. In some places, they are available in health food stores and herb shops.
Sometimes Chinese herbs are denied sale in the US for unacceptable levels of heavy metals. This is reassuring since it means there are inspections and there is oversight taking place. Due to testing by companies that import practitioner quality remedies, it is rare that heavy metals show up in remedies sold to patients.
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As far as pesticides go, this quote by the magazine Acupuncture Today seems to state it concisely: “For most herbs, vendors that do systematic testing on hundreds of products very rarely find pesticide residue levels that surpass safe limits and the majority of Chinese herbs have no detected pesticides at all.”
Most if, not all, herbal remedies sold by practitioners and dispensaries are made in reliable modern factories that perform laboratory testing. Westerners that have visited these facilities come away very impressed with how much quality, care, and modern technique is involved in herbal remedy production.
The two main Chinese patent remedy lines that Barefoot Doctor Herbs sells are Min Shan and Plum Flower. Both are known for their high quality and reliability. They are universally known and respected in the world of herbalists and Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners.
Min Shan is made in Lanzhou Foci Herb Factory in Lanzhou, China. You can see pictures of their modern manufacturing facility here. Plum Flower is made by Mayway Hebei and uses rigorous testing.
Our raw herbs are sourced from a number of companies; the quality of the herbs is insured by lab testing, inspection for heavy metals and pesticides, and visual typing to standards (organoleptic).
In conclusion, if you are shopping for Chinese remedies in an Oriental grocery store, online, or other locations, and see bottles or boxes with no English writing, no tamper seals, or manufacturing stamps–it may be best to avoid those products until you can confirm their authenticity and safety.