Yingkang says sample tests meet drug standards

Guangxi Yingkang Pharmaceutical Co Ltd has said sample tests have indicated that the Vitamin C tablet "Yinqiao" it produces meets the standards set in the State's pharmacopoeia.

Tests for heavy metal content for its traditional Chinese herbal pills have also been shown to meet the State's requirements, said the pharmaceutical company in a statement in its official website on Wednesday.

Guangxi Yinkang, based in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region is a unit of Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Holdings, a Shanghai Stock Exchange listed company based in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province.

The tests were conducted by both Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Food and Drug Administration and Nanning City Food and Drug Administration at the end of last month, said the statement.

The tests came after some of the company's Vitamin C Yinqiao pills were alleged to contain excessive sulfur, arsenics, mercury and other toxic heavy metals and chemicals.

A major material used in the tablets?- wild honeysuckle flowers?- were suspected of being sprayed with industrial sulfur by farmers before being sold to the company to prevent it from rotting in storage.

It was also alleged that some of the tablets labeled as containing wild honeysuckle flowers were actually made with leaves of the plant that were not cleaned properly.

As a result of the allegations, the company was told to suspend production and stop the distribution of relevant drugs since the end of March according to a circular issued by the China Food and Drug Administration.

The company was also ordered to recall and seal a total of 13,232 cases of the Yinqiao tablets.

The drug is commonly used by local hospitals and residents to treat flu and throat pains in the southern Chinese region.