Amid concerns over soil pollution and use of pesticide, the government should strengthen oversight of ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine, industry insiders suggested

"Some medicinal herb farmers are intentionally using highly toxic chemicals such as pesticides in the hope of increasing output, resulting in an excessive residue in products," Xu Shuqing, a deputy to the National People's Congress, told China Daily.

Xu, who is also chairman of private pharmaceutical company Guangxi Wuzhou Zhongheng Group in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, added that deteriorating farmland and water polluted by heavy metals are also concerns.