Is your Himalayan Viagra the real deal? Chinese medicine experts hope to guarantee it

Take a wander around Chinese pharmacies in Mong Kok and it’s hard not to notice caterpillar fungus, the tiny worm-like creatures crammed in huge jars that stand out among the vast and at times bizarre array of medicinal ingredients lining the shelves.

Talk with shop owners in the district and most say the fungus is either from Tibet, Sichuan or Qinghai. Some signs in front of the pharmacies declare “Governmental registered, quality guaranteed” while others state “Caterpillar fungus, originally from Tibet”.

But verifying the source and quality of traditional Chinese medicine sold in Hong Kong is not a transparent process.

Albert Wong, founding president of the Modernised Chinese Medicine International Association, a group of Hong Kong business professionals and scientists that fosters and promotes the modernisation and the internationalisation of Chinese medicine – wants to change that.

“The modernisation of Chinese medicine is absolutely a revolution. We need full disclosure of the whole process of Chinese medicine produce, from the agricultural practise to the sales,” he says.

Keen to improve the industry, Wong was one of the backers of the Hong Kong Certification Scheme for Chinese Materia Medica, a initiative launched in 2015 to better govern the trade, testing and certification of the Chinese medicine industry by improving competitiveness and public confidence in Chinese medicine.