Mayway

[Guest guest]

What opinions do members have about Mayway herbs? I am considering adding

some of their products to my dispensary.

 

Avery L. Jenkins, DC, DACBN, FIAMA

 

--

Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/

[Guest guest]

I have been very happy with their patent and raw herbs,

Bob

www.acuherbals.com

 

" Dr. Avery Jenkins " <docaltmed wrote:

What opinions do members have about Mayway herbs? I am considering adding

some of their products to my dispensary.

 

Avery L. Jenkins, DC, DACBN, FIAMA

 

--

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[Guest guest]

Very happy with products and service.

Ben Hawes, L.Ac.

Colorado

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hi Avery,

 

I work for an herb export company in Hangzhou that supplies companies

like Mayway (although Mayway does all their own sourcing and doesn't

buy from us) and know the owners of Mayway. All their finished

products are made in China, and I think they claim to have a GMP

factory there, but the products are still not much better than most

finished products made in China, in my opinion. I still prefer

finished products made in the US as the standards are generally a bit

higher (although not always). I do know that their bulk herbs are not

the best, but definitely not the worst- that award goes to some

companies that I shall not name (unless people want to hear about

that. And probably that is in fact an appropriate discussion on this

list). The best in the US are from Spring Wind as the owner, Andy

Ellis, is adamant about quality, correct species, and they test EVERY

lot they get for several hundred pesticides as well as heavy metals

and probably some other stuff. If there are any pesticides in the

herbs they refuse them. If you want to be supremely confident in the

herbs you give your patients, use Spring Wind. They're more expensive,

but I've never had a patient complain after explaining why. Also, Andy

is not making a killing off his herbs- it's just expensive to buy good

quality and do the testing and provide the kind of service they do.

Spring Wind supplies bulk herbs to some other companies in the US for

distribution and for their finished products. I think Golden Flower

herbs are made with SW herbs and they distribute the bulk herbs, KW

Botanicals uses quite a bit, and I believe Crane Herbs, on the East

Coast, distributes the bulk herbs (maybe they have some finished

products as well, not sure). Also, SW has some of their own finished

products which are really nice. They also have a dispensary in San

Francisco where you can order custom bulk-herb formulas and custom KPC

granule formulas which they will send to you or your patient

nationwide. Which reminds me, Thomas Tsay, the owner of KPC, is also

running a great company and KPC products are very high quality and

very safe. They also have great customer service.

 

By the way, I don't work for Andy and have no financial connections

there (or at any of these herb companies), so I'm not trying to

promote his business for personal gain. It's just that their herbs are

the SAFEST, good quality herbs that I know of in the US.

 

Hope this info is useful.

 

Best wishes,

 

Greg

 

Posted by: " Dr. Avery Jenkins " docaltmed mirapei2004

 

Tue Aug 8, 2006 3:03 am (PST)

 

What opinions do members have about Mayway herbs? I am considering adding

some of their products to my dispensary.

 

Avery L. Jenkins, DC, DACBN, FIAMA

 

--

Greg A. Livingston, L.Ac., PhD(candidate)

PR China, 310002

Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou

He Fang Street #419

North American International Hospital Hangzhou

mobile: 86-571-8171-2217

http://www.myspace.com/doclivy

[Guest guest]

Chinese Medicine , " Dr. Avery Jenkins "

<docaltmed wrote:

>

> What opinions do members have about Mayway herbs? I am considering adding

> some of their products to my dispensary.

>

> Avery L. Jenkins, DC, DACBN, FIAMA

>

> --

> Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/

>

I have ordered many bulk and patent herbs from Mayway. The raw herbs are

wonderful as

many are organic and supher free. Most importantly, they are BUG free. As for

the patents, b/

c there is no regulation, I still choose the brands carefully but they have a

fairly wide

selection. Also, they carry Plum Flower which is more expensive, but reliable

and comes with

some sugar free choices. Mayway also has a pretty good customer service dept.

and a quick

proccessing of orders.

Jen Leonard

[Guest guest]

Mayway has been very generous in donating funds to a group called

Acupuncturists Without Borders, which was formed in response to

Hurricane Katrina.

Volunteer acupuncturists donated their time to go to New Orleans and

deliver over five thousand free treatments since last October. The

mental health needs of that area are still great, and volunteer

acupuncturist teams are still forming.

If you would like to volunteer, donate, or if you have an interest in

the larger mission of this organisation, please visit us on the web at

www.acuwithoutborders.org

Thanks for your interest,

Sandy River, LAc

volunteer with AcuWithoutBorders

[Guest guest]

Dr. Avery Jenkins wrote:

> What opinions do members have about Mayway herbs? I am considering adding

> some of their products to my dispensary.

>

> Avery L. Jenkins, DC, DACBN, FIAMA

>

Hi Dr. Jenkins!

 

Don't buy too much, they are very short-dated and you will be tossing a

lot of them out.

 

Regards,

 

Pete

[Guest guest]

Hi Greg,

 

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. more below...

On Aug 8, 2006, at 11:06 AM, Greg Livingston wrote:

> . All their finished

> products are made in China, and I think they claim to have a GMP

> factory there, but the products are still not much better than most

> finished products made in China,

 

Are you talking about all their Plum Flower brands? Patents, 5:1

concentrate and raw???

 

> but definitely not the worst- that award goes to some

> companies that I shall not name (unless people want to hear about

> that. And probably that is in fact an appropriate discussion on this

> list).

 

Who in your opinion is the worst? Maybe we shouldn't flame, but I

want to make sure it isn't A.N. who is 95% of our raw.

 

 

> The best in the US are from Spring Wind as the owner, Andy

> Ellis, is adamant about quality, correct species, and they test EVERY

> lot they get for several hundred pesticides as well as heavy metals

> and probably some other stuff.

 

Every time I order Spring Wind from Crane it is easy to sense that

these herbs have a lot more life to them.

Maybe it is just the packaging, I don't know, but simple taste tests

and comparing to my other suppliers consistently indicates that

Spring Wind are better.

 

My one question is how they get away with giving it an organic

label. Do you know? They don't do it in China, so it is the

pesticide residue testing that gives it the organic label?

 

kind regards,

George Mandler

[Guest guest]

Dear people,

There has been organic herb farming started in China

some years ago. Yes, Spring Wind is one company, I

think NuHerbs is another that are venturing toward

organic production, although on a limited scale.

Correct me if I am wrong, but only a few herbs are

available as organic at this time.

David Tarlo,

 

--- George Mandler <gmandler wrote:

 

> Hi Greg,

>

> Thanks for your thoughtful reply. more below...

> On Aug 8, 2006, at 11:06 AM, Greg Livingston wrote:

> > . All their finished

> > products are made in China, and I think they claim

> to have a GMP

> > factory there, but the products are still not much

> better than most

> > finished products made in China,

>

> Are you talking about all their Plum Flower brands?

> Patents, 5:1

> concentrate and raw???

>

> > but definitely not the worst- that award goes to

> some

> > companies that I shall not name (unless people

> want to hear about

> > that. And probably that is in fact an appropriate

> discussion on this

> > list).

>

> Who in your opinion is the worst? Maybe we

> shouldn't flame, but I

> want to make sure it isn't A.N. who is 95% of our

> raw.

>

>

> > The best in the US are from Spring Wind as the

> owner, Andy

> > Ellis, is adamant about quality, correct species,

> and they test EVERY

> > lot they get for several hundred pesticides as

> well as heavy metals

> > and probably some other stuff.

>

> Every time I order Spring Wind from Crane it is easy

> to sense that

> these herbs have a lot more life to them.

> Maybe it is just the packaging, I don't know, but

> simple taste tests

> and comparing to my other suppliers consistently

> indicates that

> Spring Wind are better.

>

> My one question is how they get away with giving it

> an organic

> label. Do you know? They don't do it in China, so

> it is the

> pesticide residue testing that gives it the organic

> label?

>

> kind regards,

> George Mandler

>

>

[Guest guest]

I wasn't aware that ANY herbs from China are organic, are you sure?

Even Secara which bases it's name around the organic label uses only

western organic herbs. I am told that there is still yet no good third

party testing at present in China (and suspect even if there was). In

order to get an Organic/Biologic stamp, the product has to go through

europe, and sit for some time where many an herb is said to mold (esp

non-sulfured leaves).

It would truly be a gift to patients to be able to hand out truly

organic, non-sprayed, non-fertilized herbs, but not yet.

Tymothy (Ps. i have had some bugs in loose herb bags from Mayway, i

still use them, and frankly a little bug, well it could be helpful in

the condition right, how did they ever learn that cicada or wingless

cockroach had any medicinal effect for goodness sakes? **just a little

LAc humour**)

 

> >

> I have ordered many bulk and patent herbs from Mayway. The raw

herbs are wonderful as

> many are organic and supher free. Most importantly, they are BUG

free. As for the patents, b/

> c there is no regulation, I still choose the brands carefully but

they have a fairly wide

> selection. Also, they carry Plum Flower which is more expensive, but

reliable and comes with

> some sugar free choices. Mayway also has a pretty good customer

service dept. and a quick

> proccessing of orders.

> Jen Leonard

>

[Guest guest]

Chinese Medicine , " miracles28 "

<jellyphish wrote:

>

> I wasn't aware that ANY herbs from China are organic, are you sure?

 

As I understand it (from talking to Andy Ellis, the ultimate source of

the Spring Wing, Golden Flower, etc herbs), their organic products are

certified by third-party European groups that monitor the cultivation

process in China. It does exist, but so far there are not too many

herbs that are grown in a certified organic setting. However, a great

deal of Chinese medicinals are wild-crafted (often they are common

weeds in their local area).

 

Eric Brand

[Guest guest]

Hi George,

 

> > . All their finished

> > products are made in China, and I think they claim to have a GMP

> > factory there, but the products are still not much better than most

> > finished products made in China,

>

> Are you talking about all their Plum Flower brands? Patents, 5:1

> concentrate and raw???

 

Maybe I am being a bit too harsh, it's just that I generally am suspicious of

finished

products from China. There are very few companies with high integrity. If they

have

Certificate of Analysis (CoA) from a third party lab outside of China for every

lot of product

then I would consider using their products, but I'm not sure they're doing that.

Many

companies get a CoA for one lot and then use that result for the other lots.

This is

obviously a lot cheaper and easier, but not good practice. If you want to know

for sure, call

Mayway and ask them. I apologize if I spoke too soon, because it is possible

they are

doing that.

 

>

> > but definitely not the worst- that award goes to some

> > companies that I shall not name (unless people want to hear about

> > that. And probably that is in fact an appropriate discussion on this

> > list).

>

> Who in your opinion is the worst? Maybe we shouldn't flame, but I

> want to make sure it isn't A.N. who is 95% of our raw.

 

I don't know A.N. From my experience you have to be careful with the vast

majority of

suppliers in the US. Companies in the US are generally interested in low price

and not high

quality (this makes it hard for the company I work for to do business here

because we

don't deal in low quality herbs and the prices are accordingly higher- our main

market is

Japan, where they are all about quality and not concerned so much with price). I

would

avoid the really cheap distributors here, like Guo Sheng, and stick with ones

that are

testing their herbs rigourously. Ask your supplier for CoA's and for their

testing

procedures.

 

>

> > The best in the US are from Spring Wind as the owner, Andy

> > Ellis, is adamant about quality, correct species, and they test EVERY

> > lot they get for several hundred pesticides as well as heavy metals

> > and probably some other stuff.

>

> Every time I order Spring Wind from Crane it is easy to sense that

> these herbs have a lot more life to them.

> Maybe it is just the packaging, I don't know, but simple taste tests

> and comparing to my other suppliers consistently indicates that

> Spring Wind are better.

>

> My one question is how they get away with giving it an organic

> label. Do you know? They don't do it in China, so it is the

> pesticide residue testing that gives it the organic label?

 

There are, in fact, organic herbs grown in China, just not many are " certified " .

Partly

because it's an involved process and somewhat expensive. I don't know about

other

countries, but in the US, something grown abroad to be claimed as organic in the

US must

have NOP (National Organic Program) certification. Other countries and probably

the EU

have their own requirements. More and more growers and contract growers are

working

toward these, but economics drive these processes so it hasn't caught on as

quickly as we

would all like. The company I work for is working on becoming a certified

producer so we

can then certify our contracted farmers. This will take a while. In the meantime

there are

some growers that have become certified themselves, and I'm sure more and more

will do

so as long as the demand is there. The problem of cross-contamination still

remains

though- pesticides, pollutants and such are carried by wind and water, so even

certified

materials should be tested for contamination. Sad but true.

 

Warm regards,

 

Greg

[Guest guest]

Hi Jen,

 

There is definitely no reliable third-party testing in China. The labs most

people I know are

using are in Germany, Australia, and the US. They usually have the herbs tested

first in

China, then if they look ok they send them to their preferred third-party lab

for

verification.

 

As for organic, every country has its own requirements, so for example, herbs

sent to the

US don't need to go through Europe. They need to have the US NOP certification

to be

claimed as organic in the US, which means the grower has conformed to certain

requirements which include onsite inspections, etc. Not cheap for Chinese

farmers, which

is one reason why there isn't more of it. Some herbs are grown organically, or

wildcrafted

as someone mentioned, but if they haven't got the certification they can't be

claimed

organic in the country they are destined for. In the end, in my opinion,

everything needs to

be tested carefully, organic or not, and only then can we relax about safety.

 

Best wishes,

 

Greg

 

 

Chinese Medicine , " miracles28 "

<jellyphish

wrote:

>

> I wasn't aware that ANY herbs from China are organic, are you sure?

> Even Secara which bases it's name around the organic label uses only

> western organic herbs. I am told that there is still yet no good third

> party testing at present in China (and suspect even if there was). In

> order to get an Organic/Biologic stamp, the product has to go through

> europe, and sit for some time where many an herb is said to mold (esp

> non-sulfured leaves).

> It would truly be a gift to patients to be able to hand out truly

> organic, non-sprayed, non-fertilized herbs, but not yet.

> Tymothy (Ps. i have had some bugs in loose herb bags from Mayway, i

> still use them, and frankly a little bug, well it could be helpful in

> the condition right, how did they ever learn that cicada or wingless

> cockroach had any medicinal effect for goodness sakes? **just a little

> LAc humour**)

>

> > >

> > I have ordered many bulk and patent herbs from Mayway. The raw

> herbs are wonderful as

> > many are organic and supher free. Most importantly, they are BUG

> free. As for the patents, b/

> > c there is no regulation, I still choose the brands carefully but

> they have a fairly wide

> > selection. Also, they carry Plum Flower which is more expensive, but

> reliable and comes with

> > some sugar free choices. Mayway also has a pretty good customer

> service dept. and a quick

> > proccessing of orders.

> > Jen Leonard

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Mayway " Min Shan " patents are incredibly inexpensive and I've had fine

results with them. They are made in the traditional tea-pill style. For

poor patients, I've yet to find anything with more value.

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Mayway has always in my experience been a company of great integrity and

reliability. It was Alan Lau of Mayway who instituted the first ever GMP

testing of patents in the PRC and Taiwan. The company has over the years

also been very supportive of our profession and our National Organizations

here, in the USA.

Alan was also the main person who lobbied the PRC based companies to remove

contaminants like bug parts and heavy metals and sugar from their products.

 

While my usual skeptical outlook says buyer beware as far as the Organic

question my experience with Mayway tends to lead me to trust them at their

word- but i would feel easier with a known certification.

 

Mayway BTW also has been of great help in my own work in war zones and

disaster zones as well as supporting others engaged in similar work.

 

Doc Rosen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 8/10/06, Greg A. Livingston <drlivingston wrote:

>

> Hi Jen,

>

> There is definitely no reliable third-party testing in China. The labs

> most people I know are

> using are in Germany, Australia, and the US. They usually have the herbs

> tested first in

> China, then if they look ok they send them to their preferred third-party

> lab for

> verification.

>

> As for organic, every country has its own requirements, so for example,

> herbs sent to the

> US don't need to go through Europe. They need to have the US NOP

> certification to be

> claimed as organic in the US, which means the grower has conformed to

> certain

> requirements which include onsite inspections, etc. Not cheap for Chinese

> farmers, which

> is one reason why there isn't more of it. Some herbs are grown

> organically, or wildcrafted

> as someone mentioned, but if they haven't got the certification they can't

> be claimed

> organic in the country they are destined for. In the end, in my opinion,

> everything needs to

> be tested carefully, organic or not, and only then can we relax about

> safety.

>

> Best wishes,

>

> Greg

>

>

> --- In

Chinese Medicine <Chinese Medicine%40yaho\

ogroups.com>,

> " miracles28 " <jellyphish

> wrote:

> >

> > I wasn't aware that ANY herbs from China are organic, are you sure?

> > Even Secara which bases it's name around the organic label uses only

> > western organic herbs. I am told that there is still yet no good third

> > party testing at present in China (and suspect even if there was). In

> > order to get an Organic/Biologic stamp, the product has to go through

> > europe, and sit for some time where many an herb is said to mold (esp

> > non-sulfured leaves).

> > It would truly be a gift to patients to be able to hand out truly

> > organic, non-sprayed, non-fertilized herbs, but not yet.

> > Tymothy (Ps. i have had some bugs in loose herb bags from Mayway, i

> > still use them, and frankly a little bug, well it could be helpful in

> > the condition right, how did they ever learn that cicada or wingless

> > cockroach had any medicinal effect for goodness sakes? **just a little

> > LAc humour**)

> >

> > > >

> > > I have ordered many bulk and patent herbs from Mayway. The raw

> > herbs are wonderful as

> > > many are organic and supher free. Most importantly, they are BUG

> > free. As for the patents, b/

> > > c there is no regulation, I still choose the brands carefully but

> > they have a fairly wide

> > > selection. Also, they carry Plum Flower which is more expensive, but

> > reliable and comes with

> > > some sugar free choices. Mayway also has a pretty good customer

> > service dept. and a quick

> > > proccessing of orders.

> > > Jen Leonard

> > >

> >

>

>

>