<Anchor>
A report came in that an animal carcass was found in Chinese medicine used in health functional food.
In addition, it is said that cigarettes and plastics are also produced, but the informant said that Chinese medicines are being distributed in the market as they are, with only those foreign substances removed.
Let's see what reporter Bo-mi Kim covered first, and then continue the story.
<Reporter>
Chinese dried bellflower spread on the floor.
The worker spreads it out with his hand and looks at it, but a black object comes out.
One dead rat.
[Informant: I had to remove a foreign substance from China (bellflower paper), so a mouse came out while I was choosing it, but there was a time like that before, so a new head came out…
.]
You can see plastic, string, and even Chinese cigarettes.
The informant said that the Chinese medicines contained in the sacks along with these foreign substances were not discarded, but were delivered to manufacturers that make health functional foods.
[Informant: Foreign substances were selected, and only the selected raw materials were collected and distributed in domestic sacks.
I've never thrown it out just because there's a foreign substance coming out.
Because if you pick out foreign substances, the original material itself is in good condition...
.]
There is also a scene where it is suspected that Chinese medicines were mixed with domestic ones.
When you knock down the battery that says 'MADE IN CHINA', the heavens will pour out.
The workers pick out the foreign material, pour the finely chopped cheongung on it, and start mixing it with a shovel.
Enlarging an image
Put the mixed herbs into a new orange sack.
In order to check whether the medicines mixed with Chinese products were distributed as it is, we visited a health food manufacturer that uses the medicinal products of the company along with special judicial police officers from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on time for delivery.
Enlarging an image
[Isn't something just arrived?]
The sacks on one side of the yard, the letters and fonts on the sacks are the same as the sacks in the video.
The list of medicines contained in the order form obtained by the reporters and the delivered goods also match, but the country of origin is marked as 'domestic'.
[Informant: When the manufacturer said 'Please make it domestic', we couldn't match the unit price, so in this state.
Then, if you want to match 20,000 won to 19,000 won...
.
There's no way.
In the end, you have to mix it.]
A drug dealer in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province is distributing the medicines in question.
It is known that imported and domestic medicines are purchased, reprocessed, and then delivered to over 100 manufacturers across the country.
The company said, "There was a sack with a rat carcass, but the contents inside were completely discarded," said the company.
In addition, he denied that he had ever done such a work when asked whether it was a domestically produced product by mixing domestic and Chinese medicines.
(Video coverage: Cho Chang-hyeon·Kim Seung-tae, video editing: Yoon Tae-ho)
---
<Anchor>
Here is reporter Kim Bo-mi, who just delivered the report.
Q. Was it actually distributed?
[Reporter Bo-mi Kim: That's right.
The informant said, "Only the dead mice were removed and the bellflower was distributed as it is."
The company's claims are divided, saying, "Even the drugs were discarded and not distributed."
Judging by the condition of the rat carcass in question, it may have been mixed in from China, but it may have been brought in because of poor storage management in Korea.
Let's listen to the experts.]
[Lee Kyung-jin/Professor of College of Oriental Medicine, Kyunghee University: This is not from China, but it seems that mice got into it because it was not managed in the (domestic) warehouse...
.
I just put it in a general warehouse, so not only rats but also cockroaches and stuff like that can fit in here.]
[Reporter Bo-mi Kim: It is that domestic distributors need a thorough check on their drug management.
Although there are regular occupations by the authorities and intermittent crackdowns are taking place, the amount is huge and the manpower is insufficient.
Therefore, these problems do not appear without complaints or whistleblowers from consumers who discovered foreign substances.]
Enlarging an image
Q. Are Chinese medicines okay?
[Reporter Bo-mi Kim: That's right.
Herbal medicines are largely divided into food and drug common herbal medicines, which are used in health functional foods, and medicinal substances.
In both drugs, samples are selected at the import stage and tested for foreign substances or hazardous substances.
But the next step is different.
Drugs for pharmaceuticals are delivered to medical institutions through detailed testing according to the pharmacopoeia standard by pharmaceutical companies, whereas pharmaceuticals for food go through the distribution process without such detailed inspection.
As interest in and consumption of health functional foods is increasing, it seems necessary to prepare countermeasures.]