Hou Zhihui breaks open a cold-medicine capsule, pours the powder on to a piece of steamed dough and folds it together. He passes the miniature bun to a colleague who pops it in her mouth.
That is his response to the discovery of 77 million capsules made of industrial gel containing chromium, a carcinogenic heavy metal, the latest in a series of safety problems blighting China's healthcare industry, including the widespread manufacture of fake drugs.
The government has repeatedly promised to tighten regulatory systems after safety scandals involving fish, drugs, toys, toothpaste, children's clothes, tires, drugs and milk fortified with melamine, used in the manufacture of tabletops. But little has been done apart from a few, highly publicized arrests.
"I read about the capsule problem ... the next morning, a colleague of mine had a cold, so I thought of a way for her to take the medicine," Hou said.
China announced in May that 254 pharmaceutical suppliers, or 12.7 percent of the total, were producing tainted capsules. At least 10 are listed or linked to China-listed firms, according to the official Chinese media. Of 11,561 batches of drugs tested, 5.8 percent contained excessive levels of chromium.
Instead of using gelatin derived from animal parts, they used cheap industrial gelatin from leather scraps treated with chromium that tans and softens animal hide.
The problem is pervasive because of the pressure to produce low-cost drugs and still make a profit, and the popularity of traditional Chinese medicine, which is often made into powders and packed into capsules.
Authorities swooped in on 236 capsule makers, ordered 42 of them to stop production, closed 84 production lines, revoked the licenses of seven companies and referred 13 to the police.
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