The chaos in the foot bath package market reflects hidden dangers in the Chinese herbal medicine market, and the standardization of the industry needs to be accelerated.

The proliferation of "three-no" herbal foot bath packs: soaking feet becomes "cultivating bacteria," increasing consumer health risks

Recently, CCTV's "3.15" Gala and multiple media outlets exposed the chaotic production of online celebrity foot bath packs, revealing that some processing plants use cigarette butts, stones, plastic, and other debris to impersonate Chinese herbal medicines. The production environment is dirty and chaotic, resulting in product colony counts exceeding standards by 850 times, and even the detection of pathogenic microorganisms such as E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The Shanghai Municipal Consumers' Association's end-of-year 2024 inspection of 60 best-selling foot bath packs showed that only 2 were qualified, with a qualification rate of less than 3%. Most products had problems such as lack of fragrance, mildew, and fake dyeing.

Deep-seated impact of industry chaos:

1. Consumer trust crisis: false advertising (such as claiming 36 herbal medicines but actually only containing 5), and inferior raw materials resulting in the ineffectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine health benefits, weakening consumer trust in traditional Chinese medicine.

2. Prominent health hazards: exceeding fungal levels may cause contact dermatitis, secondary infections, and even sepsis; dyes and illegal additives may cause cancer with long-term use.

3. Damage to brand reputation: well-known brands such as "Tongrentang" and "Mayinglong" have been involved in public opinion due to problems with their processing plants, exposing loopholes in the supervision of OEM production.

Scientifically distinguishing Chinese herbal medicines: consumers need to master three core principles

Against the backdrop of a market flooded with inferior products, the Hold Health Group, together with industry experts, has put forward the following suggestions to help consumers make scientific choices:

1. Check ingredients and labels:

- Regular products should clearly indicate the names, contents, and execution standards of the herbs; be wary of products with "multi-ingredient formulas" but without specific ingredients listed.

- Compare the actual product with the advertisement. For example, saffron and dyed safflower can be distinguished by the speed at which the color diffuses after soaking (saffron slowly releases a golden yellow color, while dyed safflower fades quickly).

2. Check qualifications and channels:

- Prioritize products sold in pharmacies, hospitals, or regular e-commerce platforms. Verify whether the manufacturer has GMP certification and test reports.

- Avoid blindly pursuing low prices. For foot bath packs claiming "buy one get one free for 39.9 yuan", the cost is difficult to cover the procurement and production of compliant herbal medicines.

3. Distinguish quality and craftsmanship:

- High-quality herbal medicines release flocculent substances after soaking in water; inferior products may produce turbidity or strange smells due to dyes or impurities.

- Screen reliable brands through evaluation results released by authoritative institutions (such as the Shanghai Chinese Medicine Industry Association).

Path to industry standardization: full-chain upgrade from source to end

In response to the chaotic situation in the Chinese herbal medicine market, the Hold Health Research Institute has proposed three solutions:

1. Improvement of the standard system:

- Call on the state to quickly introduce production standards for emerging categories such as foot bath packs, clarifying microbial limits, herbal compatibility principles, and label regulations.

- Referencing Shandong Province's experience, promote the construction of authentic herbal medicine bases and the popularization of green planting technology to guarantee raw material quality from the source.

2. Strengthening supervision technology:

- Promote the blockchain traceability system to achieve transparency in the entire process of herbal medicine planting, processing, and circulation, combating the circulation of substandard products.

- Increase the intensity of flying inspections, implement a "blacklist" system for violating enterprises, and create a deterrent effect through media publicity.

3. Deepening consumer education:

- Jointly conduct traditional Chinese medicine health education with medical institutions, emphasizing the principle of "syndrome differentiation treatment" and avoiding the blind use of one prescription for all.

- Establish an industry whitelist and regularly release recommendations for high-quality products to guide healthy market competition.

Conclusion

The chaotic situation in the Chinese herbal medicine market not only threatens consumer health but also hinders the inheritance of traditional Chinese medicine culture and industrial upgrading. The Hold Health Group will continue to promote the concept of "quality Chinese medicine," empowering technology and building standards together to help the industry move towards a standardized and transparent new era, allowing traditional health preservation to truly return to its healthy essence.

(News sources compiled from: The Paper, Shanghai Municipal Consumers' Association, Global Times Client, Shandong Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, etc.)