Pesticides and KO DA Pharmaceutical

BY Yes Chinaherb, 1 JANUARY 2015

KO DA Pharmaceutical have been concerned over pesticides found in Chinese herbs since many years ago, even before Greenpeace. We prioritise safety first above all else; as the most trusted brand in Taiwan, KO DA is the only manufacturer who are able to provide full transparency of our manufacturing and quality control processes from start to finish. In Taiwan, KO DA is the first company to establish their Herbal Sourcing Project and also award-winning Cloud Herbal Tracing Platform via QR Code which details the agricultural base, planting methods, harvesting, safety inspections, testing methodologies and test results. This allows complete transparency and to give users the full picture on safety, reliability and ethical conduct of KO DA’s processes.

1. When sourcing raw materials, KO DA implements a very strict Source Management system (Herbal Sourcing Project) where the agricultural environments in China are carefully assessed and formal contracts are enforced with farmers after the assessments. The contracted farmers are required to create detailed production records in accordance to Good Agricultural Practice (GAP). Additional requirements are to inspect and record water and soil conditions before and after harvest, confirm origin of herb by testing samples of species and its properties, and adhere to all other planting specifications required by KO DA.
2. At the start of production, the raw materials that qualify are thoroughly soaked, rinsed and cleaned for each and every batch of production and manufactured in Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certified and ISO 9001:2008 certified fully automated facilities which prevents any possibility of contamination or human discrepancy. KO DA also utilises professional Clean-In-Place (CIP) cleaning systems to rinse the internal part of machines and pipes without contamination by human hands or other external factors. This ensures that KO DA’s manufacturing equipment is always kept clean, aseptic and safe.
3. The purchased raw materials, semi-finished products to finished products are also consistently and heavily screened for pesticides using the most advanced testing equipment such as Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) and Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). In addition to pesticides, KO DA invests in Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC), Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES) for various heavy metals, High Performance Liquid Chromatography with Postcolumn Fluorescenc (HPLC-FL) for Aflaxotins, and LC-MS/MS again for Aristolochic Acid. All testing are conducted by KO DA’s onsite laboratory which is both Taiwan Accreditation Foundation (TAF) ISO 17025:2005 certified AND certified by Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA).
4. And of course, each and every batch of KO DA’s finished product is again tested and accompanied with the Certificate of Analysis (COA) that accurately reflects test results to the nearest parts-per-million (ppm).
5. KO DA Pharmaceutical also seeks independent and reputable third party laboratories to ensure that their own testing standards remain accurate, relevant and up-to-date. We have a selection of herbal products that have passed 252 pesticide items too, such as Bai He, Gou Qi Zi, Qian Shi and Yi Yi Ren which are herbs that are most likely to be contaminated with pesticides based on studies and experience.