Korean ginseng growers and processors are waging an uphill battle to have the name 'Korean ginseng' removed from pharmaceutical products produced by Pharmaton SA.
"Pharmaton is wrongfully listing Korean ginseng as a key ingredient in their products Ginsana and Geriatric Pharmaton Capsules, when in fact they are using Chinese ginseng," said Park Woo-yong, vice president of the Korea Ginseng Forum, meeting with reporters after a protest rally in front of the Swiss Embassy in Seoul. Pharmaton is a Swiss subsidiary of Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, a pharmaceutical giant.
The forum first took up the matter last year when it learned that Chinese ginseng had replaced Korean ginseng in the two products that are sold in over 80 countries.
"It is unethical for the company to continue to list Korean Ginseng Extract G115 as a key ingredient when there is compelling evidence that Pharmaton is using cheaper Chinese ginseng," explained Park.
Pharmaton had purchased its entire requirement of Korean Ginseng Extract G115 from Korea since 1978. However, the forum has learned that since 1988, the Swiss company has been importing huge quantities of ginseng from China.
A key issue here is the marketability of Korean ginseng in the international market. Chinese ginseng costs only 1/5-1/10 of what Korean ginseng sells for. The higher price fetched by Korean ginseng is a testament to the superior quality of the native ginseng, according to ginseng producers here.
Because the pharmaceutical company has been using the much cheaper Chinese ginseng, Korean ginseng has lost ground in the international market, according to Park.
"This unethical conduct is threatening the livelihoods of some 100,000 Koreans in the ginseng related industry," Park said. The number of ginseng growers, which once peaked at 60,000, has dwindled to a mere 23,000, Park claimed.
The foruum yesterday delivered a letter to the Swiss Embassy in Seoul, calling on the Swiiss government to cancel registration of Ginsana and Geriatric Pharmaton Capsules. The group also called on Pharmaton to publish public apologies in major Swiss and Korean newspapers.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently investigating the matter of mislabeling, according to Park. The forum has also filed suit with the International Chamber of Commerce, he added.
1999.12.01
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Newsdesk