Health food companies warned over false ads

BEIJING - The China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) has warned 32 health food companies for releasing advertisements featuring illegal content.

A Friday statement from the administration described the ads of the companies, all of which have official health food operation licenses, as having "severely misguided consumers and exerted long-term and large-scale negative influence on society."

Figures from the statement show that 90 percent of the health food advertisements contain illegal content, citing monitoring results for ads appearing on TV and traditional media nationwide from the start of 2012 to March 2013.

Among the ads, 39 percent included false claims stating that the products are capable of treating or even curing certain diseases, the statement said.

The CFDA urged the companies to recall the ads and abide by the law in the future, vowing to suspend their operations if they fail to do so.