TCM suppliers get audited

Singapore - Eu Yan Sang and Agrifood Technologies have launched an audit on TCM herbs suppliers, the first such audit in the world.

The world's first certification standard for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) herbs have been developed by Eu Yan Sang in a partnership with Agrifood Technologies to ensure safety food controls throughout the supply chain.

The ‘Eu Yan Sang Good Agronomics Practices for Herb (EYSGAP - Herbs) Certification Scheme,' which included labels for easy identification by consumers, is an effort to rise against the international concerns on the quality of food originating from China. The certification will demonstrate that all stages in the process of growing, processing and retailing of TCM herbs will be standardised.

In January 2008, Agrifood Technologies embarked on an independent audit of a Lingzhi farm in Fuzhou, China in accordance to the EYSGAP-Herbs standards. It includes an evaluation on the supplier's production system and an audit that reviews the supplier's documentation and records as well as management and product quality control system.

"As an industry leader, we are creating one recognisable quality standard specifically for TCM herbs. It adopts a scientific approach and uses advance scientific methods of measurement and accuracy to ensure safety and traceability throughout the whole process," said Richard Eu, group chief executive officer of Eu Yan Sang.

An online portal ‘iGATE' have been set up to compliment the certification effort. Eu said, "iGATES wraps up all the processes together and enables the various stakeholders and the various parts of the value chain to connect on this platform."

The fine premium TCM herbs at Eu Yan Sang and the Wisconsin American Ginseng will also be included in the EYSGAP-Herbs Certification Scheme.