BEIJING: Chinese police have arrested 11 people on suspicion of making and selling some 90 million cancer-causing capsule casings in the eastern province of Zhejiang, state media reported yesterday.
The casings were made with an industrial gelatin that contained high amounts of the metal chromium, the official China Daily newspaper said, adding the group was detained at a workshop last month. Police are still investigating where the casings were sold. State media did not report any cases of illness caused by the toxic shells.
The group was led by a 56-year-old man named Pan Bohai, the China Daily said. Pan, who had previously worked at a now-bankrupt pharmaceutical firm that also produced empty capsules, gathered 10 friends to start his own business, the paper said. The company had been producing the capsules since February, the paper said.
Chinese consumers have become increasingly wary about fake food and pharmaceuticals in the wake of a series of scandals, from re-used “gutter oil” in cooking to cadmium-tainted rice.
Reuters
