Law enforcement officers of Haishu District Market Supervision Administration of Ningbo City conducted an on-site inspection of Zhejiang Ciyue Health Management Co., Ltd. Ningbo Branch (namely Yuezi Club) according to law, and found a can of Chinese herbal medicines such as motherwort, Ophiopogon japonicus and Codonopsis pilosula in the kitchen.
It turned out that the Confucius Center added Codonopsis pilosula and dried tangerine peel to the chicken soup for pregnant women. Law enforcement officers thought that Codonopsis pilosula was not a substance that was both food and Chinese herbal medicine, and Ziyue Center violated the relevant provisions of People's Republic of China (PRC) Food Safety Law, so it was fined.
Dangshen stewed chicken soup, a common dish in most people's eyes, was punished, which triggered a lot of discussion among netizens. The focus of discussion falls on the medicinal materials of Codonopsis pilosula.
For a long time, there is no absolute dividing line between food and medicine. In China's traditional food culture, some Chinese herbal medicines have been widely eaten by the people for a long time, that is, according to tradition, they are both food and Chinese herbal medicines, that is, the ingredients with the same origin of medicine and food.
There are more than 100 species in the list of homology of medicine and food published by the National Health Commission of China, and Codonopsis pilosula is not one of them. However, on June 6, 2020, the National Health and Wellness Commission and the State Administration of Market Supervision jointly issued the Notice on the Pilot Work of Material Management for 9 kinds of substances, such as Codonopsis pilosula, which are both traditional foods and Chinese herbal medicines.
It is planned to carry out the pilot work of production and management of 9 kinds of substances that are both traditional food and Chinese herbal medicines, such as Codonopsis pilosula, Cistanche deserticola (desert), Dendrobium candidum, Ganoderma lucidum, Gastrodia elata, Eucommia ulmoides leaves, Cornus officinalis, Astragalus membranaceus and American ginseng.
People's Republic of China (PRC) Food Safety Law and the Central People's Government.