MikeLigalig.com

A Chinese drug safety watchdog has halted all production at the Wandashan Pharmaceutical Company in northeastern Heilongjiang Province after it sold contaminated drugs.

At a press conference on Thursday, the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) said Wandashan was the manufacturer of an herbal injection suspected of causing three deaths last month.

"This is a serious incident caused by drug contamination," said Yan Jiangying, SFDA spokeswoman.

The herbal injection product, known as ciwujia, was soaked by rain while in storage and thus contaminated by bacteria. It happened in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, during a storm on July 1 of this year, Yan said.

The Wandashan Pharmaceutical Company's salesperson in Yunnan, surnamed Zhang, sold the contaminated products after changing packaging with new labels forwarded by the company.

"The company's action seriously violated the drug management law and it should be punished for producing the drug," Yan added.