(Yicai) March 16 -- China’s market regulator and local authorities have pledged to carry out rigorous investigations after a string of illegal activities, ranging from food safety violations to false advertising, were revealed on Chinese state broadcaster CCTV’s annual name-and-shame 315 show.

"In response to violations in areas under market regulation, the State Administration for Market Regulation has quickly activated its emergency response mechanism, deployed law enforcement actions and will report the results of the investigations to the public in a timely manner," the watchdog said.

Issues exposed during CCTV’s special TV program broadcast on World Consumer Rights Day yesterday included a chicken feet processing company in Chengdu, southwestern Sichuan province that was illegally using hydrogen peroxide for bleaching, medical institutions that were injecting patients with so-called "exosomes" and products with no expiry date, no production license and no named manufacturer, as well as multiple chains scamming teenagers with pseudoscientific methods such as "quantum repair" to increase height.

Other instances of misconduct included private community groups using fake "medical expert" videos to sell medications at inflated prices to the elderly, e-bike firm HelloRide allegedly renting out vehicles that did not meet safety standards, AI large language models that were "poisoned" or manipulated and unlicensed companies defrauding investors under the guise of "stock recommendation profit sharing."

Local regulators acted immediately. In Chengdu, authorities ordered Shu Fu Xiang Food, Ming Yang Food and Jiebosai'er Biotechnology to suspend operations and to fully seal the products and raw materials involved. Chongqing has initiated an investigation into the chicken feet producer illegally using hydrogen peroxide and its products have been seized. In Tianjin, a joint team from the drug, health, public security and market regulation departments took action overnight against Haolin (Tianjin) Biotechnology.

Regarding the height enhancement scams, regulators in Wenzhou and Hangzhou in southeastern Zhejiang province have launched probes into Shenzhen DeJirui Hospital Management and Hangzhou Anlisheng Health Management and have already collected evidence.

In Shanghai, the municipal and district market regulators together with public security and transport authorities conducted overnight checks on HelloRide and Pojingsi Network Technology (Shanghai). In Shenyang, a joint investigation team has been dispatched to conduct on-site investigations of private marketing firms Shengwei Culture Media and Aoying Culture Media.

Editor: Kim Taylor