Chinese media sources (www.xinhuanet.com) report that China’s State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) issued a circular on Friday requiring manufacturers of dietary supplements to tighten quality control over raw materials by reviewing the qualifications of raw material suppliers and inspecting the suppliers’ products regularly. The suppliers must improve the quality control of raw materials and manufacturers are directed to develop detailed records of raw material purchases to assist tracking the sources of raw materials. The SFDA also asked its local branches to more closely supervise manufacturers who use expensive and rare extractions from animals and plants and imported raw materials. The document threatened serious punishments for Chinese supplement manufacturers that use substandard raw materials. The agency pledged to both publicize and stop the distribution of unsafe supplements in China. 

Cross-contaminated raw materials from Chinese suppliers have long troubled the American supplement industry, prompting negative media reports, product recalls, and even criminal investigations. Recognition that tainted ingredients pose a serious problem is certainly a step in the right direction for Chinese authorities. Let’s hope quality control is improved not only for Chinese products, but for those raw materials that make their way across the Pacific to our shores.