Test-tube fungus Because this treasured ingredient of Chinese herbal medicines is of such uneven quality and so expensive, over the last three or four years Taiwan Sugar in southern Taiwan and Tah Chwen Food (an affiliate of Tah An Kong Yen Food) in northern Taiwan have each been working to produce the fungus artificially and thus overcome limitations caused by geography and harvest quantity.
有鑑於珍貴中藥材的品質不穩及價格昂貴，因此南部的台糖企業、北部的工研院化工所與工研醋關係企業大醇食品公司合作，兩家企業在三、四年前展開以生物科技方式量產冬蟲夏草，以突破產地及產量的侷限。