Fang Thi-ha paid a healthy price for a bundle of cordyceps, a root popularly used in Chinese tonics. But when she opened the package to prepare a soup for her rheumatism, a stack of less medicinal twigs spilled out.
That's just one of many ways counterfeiters of Chinese herbs dupe consumers. As the price of increasingly popular herbal medicines such as ginseng and cordyceps goes up, the more lucrative it is to sell impostors, consumer experts warn.
What's more, the fakes often are difficult to spot until they're boiling in the pot.
Although Mrs. Fang, who was duped a few years ago, didn't seek compensation, victims of counterfeiters can get help from the Hong Kong Consumer Council and law enforcement agencies.
In the past few years, both the council and the Customs and Excise Department have studied the herbs so they can more easily identify fakes.
While phony goods may hurt the pocketbook, they generally won't harm the health, says Connie Lau, chief research officer of the Consumer Council. Cordyceps often are taken to prevent colds at this time of year, she says. The root also is said to help circulation, sore joints and fatigue. Most fakes are made from the stachys geobombycis plant, which has no nutritional value and probably won't cure a cold, but isn't toxic, according to a study by the Chinese Medicinal Material Research Center at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
The Wanchai shop where Mrs. Fang made her purchase had tied a few real cordycep roots around ordinary sticks. Other common means of deception, such as weighing down roots with bits of metal, or soaking them with salt water to add weight, can't hurt you either, says But Puihay, director of the medicinal research center.
To avoid being cheated, make sure cordycep roots are of uniform size, Dr. But suggests. Fake roots have more bumps and discolorations than cordyceps, he says. With real cordyceps, a black fungus, shaped like four insect legs, should be firmly attached to the root, says Ms. Lau. On phonies, blackened bits of the plant are stuck to the root with cornstarch to imitate the fungus.
The definitive cordycep test takes place at home when the roots are soaked before consumption. Fakes are colored light brown with turmeric powder, so if a yellow scum floats to the surface after a few minutes, you'll know you've been had, Ms. Lau says.
At HK$1,620 a kilogram, triple last year's price, cordyceps are increasingly being faked, says Chan Wing-kai, chief complaints officer of the Consumer Council. Expensive types of ginseng also are being faked more often, says Li Ying Sun, chairman of the Po Sau Tong Ginseng Antler Association H.K.Ltd.
The Ginseng Board of Wisconsin Inc. and Korea Tobacco Ginseng Ltd., two major exporters of the herb, have devised authentication seals for packages of legitimate Korean and American ginseng , but fraud persists.
Some merchants substitute cheaper Chinese ginseng for prized Korean red and American white ginseng ; the Chinese roots look much like the American and Korean ones, says Mr. Li of the ginseng association. Ginseng is known as a general tonic helpful for sexual stamina, strength and longevity. Again, the fakes are harmful only to the pocketbook, he says.
Better growing conditions and processing make American and Korean ginseng more potent than Chinese ginseng , he says, which is why 600 grams of Korean red can cost up to HK $15,750, compared with about HK$60 to HK$80 for the same amount of Chinese ginseng . American ginseng sells for HK$600 to HK$1,200 for 600 grams, compared with HK$80 to HK$100 for Chinese white. Wild Chinese ginseng that has been growing for 20 to 30 years, distinguishable by its tangled mass of roots, is worth HK$50,000 a tael (37.8 grams), compared with about HK$200 for a common substitute, a hybrid of American and Chinese white ginseng with just a long skinny tail.
Although it's far cheaper than ginseng , wei shan is often convincingly faked, says Mr. Chan at the Consumer Council. The stem of the plant is used in soup during winter as a general pick-me-up. The fake is made with sweet potato, which crumbles after a few hours on the boil, while real wei shan stays firm.
The Consumer Council rarely gets complaints about fake wei shan, however, perhaps because at HK$15 a tael for the real thing, consumers aren't too worried about being stuck with overpriced yams.
When purchasing any expensive Chinese herb, be sure to get a description of the product on a receipt that is dated and stamped with the merchant's chop, says Mr. Chan. If you find the goods are counterfeit, report the shop to the police, the Customs and Excise Department or the Consumer Council.
Retailers who sell counterfeit goods can be prosecuted.
Armed with a receipt, consumers will have a good chance of getting their money back if they make a civil claim against fraudulent vendors, says Ms. Lau. But they'll have to be patient. A year after the first consumer complained to the Consumer Council about fake cordyceps, the case is still in court.
BY : Samantha Marshall - Staff Reporter
SOURCE : The Asian Wall Street Journal
1996. 02.
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