Baoshantang Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, a maker of traditional Chinese medicine based in Guangdong province's Jieyang city, has lost its production license after it was found to have illegally produced a dry extract used in Yinqiao tablets, a type of vitamin C tablets.

The company was found to have used non-medicinal parts of wild honeysuckle flowers to produce the dry extract for the pills, according to sources with Guangdong's Food and Drug Administration.

Police have launched an investigation to determine the criminal responsibility of the company's executives and other employees.

The pills are commonly used in the southern Chinese region to treat the flu and throat ailments, but the non-medicinal part of wild honeysuckle flowers might be toxic and harm people's health, authorities said on Saturday.

The company was also found to have forged its production records to avoid supervision from authorities during an inspection campaign launched by the province's Food and Drug Administration last week.

“The company has caused a potential safety hazard to the public, and its actions were very serious,” the local Food and Drug Administration said.

The Guangdong Food and Drug Administration also urged authorities to implement concrete and effective measures to boost supervision of pharmaceutical companies, in a bid to ensure the safety and effectiveness of TCM products.