Drugs scandal hits China
The mass confiscations of suspect capsules show the authorities'determination to be seen to be acting promptly after the scandal was uncovered a week ago.
Chinese television reported then that several companies were making drug capsules from industrial gelatin, containing potentially toxic levels of chromium and retrieved from discarded scraps of leather.
The safety of food and drugs is a constant public worry in China, with frequent outcries over fake medicines and substandard products. Government investigators have now been sent to Zhejiang, Hebei and Jiangxi provinces; state media said large amounts of industrial gelatin were confiscated there and in the province of Shandong.
Among those detained are a local official and a sales manager from Hebei, who are suspected of ordering a factory to be burned down to destroy the evidence.
confiscation [,kɔnfis'keiʃən]
n. 没收;征用;充公
capsule ['kæpsjuːl; -sjʊl]
- n. 胶囊;[植] 蒴果;太空舱;小容器
- adj. 压缩的;概要的
- vt. 压缩;简述
scandal ['skænd(ə)l]
- n. 丑闻;流言蜚语;诽谤;公愤
gelatin ['dʒelətin]
- n. 明胶;动物胶;胶制品
toxic ['tɔksik]
- adj. 有毒的;中毒的
chromium ['krəʊmɪəm]
- n. [化学] 铬(24号元素,符号Cr)
retrieve [rɪ'triːv]
- vt. [计] 检索;恢复;重新得到
- vi. 找回猎物
- n. [计] 检索;恢复,取回