Lift the ban! Red dates and coix seeds will also be available in convenience stores in the future

Traditional Chinese medicine becomes food ingredient! Red dates, coix seeds, ginkgo nuts, and black beans were previously classified as medicinal herbs and could only be sold in Chinese medicine stores. However, they are often used in cooking by the public. The Chinese Medicine Committee of the Department of Health decided on the evening of the 18th that the ban could be lifted as early as the 20th. In the future, these four items will be both medicinal herbs and foods and can be legally sold in general grain stores, convenience stores, and shopping malls.

Huang Linhuang, director of the Department of Health's Traditional Chinese Medicine Committee, pointed out in the evening that since 1960, in accordance with the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, the Department of Health has listed the Chinese herbal medicines listed in the "Compendium of Materia Medica" as controlled Chinese medicinal materials, which can only be sold by drug dealers. However, because they do not meet the needs of the people, they have been gradually opened up year by year over the years, including dried chrysanthemum, dried longan, lotus seeds, garlic, black fungus, etc. So far, a total of 212 items of controlled Chinese medicinal materials have been lifted. From now on, it can be sold freely in convenience stores, shopping malls, grocery stores and even online.

He explained that the classification of food in traditional Chinese medicine is the same as that of traditional Chinese medicine. In addition to the so-called four properties of "warm, hot, cool, and cold", food can be further classified according to the five flavors of "spicy, sweet, sour, bitter, and salty" and have different therapeutic effects. In addition, food also has the phenomenon of "rising, falling, floating, and sinking". As Chinese medicine becomes food, the Department of Health has not relaxed its control, but has simply made it more convenient for the public. Red dates, coix seeds, ginkgo nuts, black beans, etc. will be used as both medicine and food in the future, and the huge business opportunities will no longer be restricted by regulations.

In traditional Chinese medicine, red dates can nourish the middle and replenish qi, coix seed can relieve cough and asthma, ginkgo can nourish the lungs and calm asthma, and black beans can nourish yin and replenish qi. It seems that many people have become accustomed to buying them at Chinese medicine stores. But no matter what, starting this year, Chinese medicine stores will have to face other channels and join the competition for the sales market of red dates, coix seed, ginkgo and black beans. But for people, it just makes buying more convenient.

However, many Chinese medicine dealers are worried that once the restrictions are relaxed, the problem of pesticide residues may be out of control. The Chinese Medicine Merchants Association privately revealed that red dates, which replenish blood and energy, are loved by many people whether brewed as tea or added to dishes, and the red dates sales of Chinese medicine shops are among the best. In the past, red dates were probably one of the most popular products. Red dates and wolfberries were considered very popular, with at least several boxes sold a day. Now that the ban has been lifted, it is bound to result in a decrease in revenue, which is causing great concern among the industry.