The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s announcement that only 10 of the 207 products that list Cynanchum Wilfordii Radix among their ingredients were confirmed to actually contain the medicinal root came as a shock to consumers who bought food products and health foods supposedly containing the herb, known as “baeksuo” in Korean.

The ministry tested the products after the Korea Consumer Agency last month released a study showing that 66 percent of baeksuo products contained Cynanchum auriculatum Royle ex Wight, also known as “iyeobupiso,” which is a cheaper root imported from China indistinguishable from baeksuo by sight. DNA testing is required to distinguish the two roots.

Forty of the 207 products tested contained iyeobupiso while in 157 cases, it was not possible to determine whether the product contained iyeobupiso since the DNA needed for the test was destroyed during the manufacturing process.

The crux of the problem is that the ministry is wavering on its position on whether iyeobupiso is harmful to health. Baeksuo has been marketed heavily as a remedy for menopausal and perimenopausal symptoms. While Korea Consumer Agency argues that iyeobupiso can cause nerve problems and weight loss, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety maintains that taking baeksuo products containing iyeobupiso is not harmful.

The ministry said that it would undertake a toxicity test of iyeobupiso to put the public’s mind at ease. It could be two years before the test results are available. Even if iyeobupiso were found to be toxic in animal testing, it does not mean that it is harmful to humans, the ministry said. If confirmed to be toxic in animal testing, the ministry would proceed to determine its effect on humans taking into account the amount ingested.

Iyeobupiso, which is used in China, has not been recognized for use as a food ingredient in Korea because it has not been consumed as food here and no one has applied for its use as a food ingredient, according to the ministry. The ministry said it would review any such application based on scientific data.

The situation has cascaded into a fiasco in which the farmers who grow baeksuo have been dealt a great blow ― the company that processed baeksuo initially blamed the farmers for mixing baeksuo with iyeobupiso ― and television home shopping companies face compensation bills on an unprecedented scale for those who have bought various products claiming to contain baeksuo.

In the meantime, consumers have been left in the lurch, confused about whether it is safe to take products containing baeksuo since so many of the baeksuo products were shown to contain iyeobupiso. Despite the ministry’s assurance that from now on only baeksuo products unadulterated with iyeobupiso will be sold, it is a foregone conclusion that the public will stay away from baeksuo-containing products lest they inadvertently expose themselves to a possibly toxic substance.