CHINA’S top market regulatory authority vowed to intensify its fight against irregularities in the healthcare products sector this year, amid recent nationwide campaigns that have placed some of China’s biggest sellers of health products under investigation.

“Learning lessons from the case of the Tianjin Quanjian company, we have made plans to regulate the health products sector, which is rampant with irregularities,” Zhang Mao, minister of the State Administration for Market Regulation, said in an interview on China Central Television, China Daily reported Thursday.

Zhang made the comments following the launch of a 100-day campaign earlier this month by 13 central government departments, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Commerce.

“Recently, serious problems involving the health products market have been exposed, such as fake promotions, illegal advertising and deceiving consumers, which have seriously damaged the interests of consumers and disrupted market order,” Zhang said at a conference marking the launch of the campaign.

Irregularities in the health products sector attracted public attention recently following a media report in December that included accusations against Tianjin-based Quanjian Nature Medicine Technology Development. Sources said the company deceived consumers with fake promotions, which resulted in the death of a 7-year-old girl who was being given an herb product from the company that it claimed had an anti-cancer effect. (China Daily)