China is crafting new safety rules for oral care products,
apparently propelled by international alarm over toothpaste
producers' use of a chemical found in antifreeze.
Numerous countries have stopped imports of Chinese-made toothpaste
in recent months for containing diethylene glycol, or DEG, which is
also used as a low-cost -- and sometimes deadly -- substitute for
glycerin, a sweetener in many drugs.
A set of "strict certification and evaluation procedures" are
being drawn up by China's Health Ministry and the China
Certification and Accreditation Administration, the China News
Service said, citing an announcement made during a national
symposium. No other details were given.
Last month, the Health Ministry's spokesman, Mao Qun'an, said at
least two new regulations were being considered focusing on
certification and inspection standards.
The administration's website said the new rules would "improve
the quality, safety and hygiene of oral health care products."
A spokeswoman from the administration, which oversees
certification of Chinese products, confirmed the regulations were
being drawn up and said the administration had asked for public
opinions last year. She declined to give her name.
Worries over the safety of Chinese exports began earlier this
year when the deaths of dogs and cats in North America were linked
to pet food containing Chinese wheat gluten tainted with the
chemical melamine.
Since then, US authorities have also banned or turned away a
long list of Chinese products, including fish, juice and popular
toy trains decorated with lead paint.?
Countries in North and South America, as well as Asia, have
banned Chinese-made toothpaste because of its DEG content, although
there have been no reports of health problems stemming from the
product.
Chinese officials have said tests carried out in 2000 by Chinese
experts proved that toothpaste containing less than 15.6% DEG was
harmless.
Other major buyers such as Japan and the European Union have
pushed Beijing to improve inspections as its goods make their way
through global markets.
Chinese authorities have vowed stronger safety measures. China's
food safety watchdog said Tuesday that 19.1%, about one-fifth, of
products made for domestic consumption were found to be substandard
in the first half of 2007. Canned and preserved fruit and dried
fish were the most problematic, primarily because of excessive
bacteria and additives, the agency said.
Though the survey covered many different products, it focused on
food, common consumer goods, farming machinery and fertilizers.
In a related development, China's Ministry of Health announced
Wednesday a recall of two brands of diapers made by manufacturers
in north China's Hebei Province and south China's Fujian Province. It did not say if the diapers
had been exported but said the brands were popular in rural
areas.
A spot check of rural shopping centers revealed that batches of
infant diapers sold under the brand names Haobeir and
Jinglianbangshuang contained excessive amounts of fungus, a
statement posted to the central government's official website said.
It did not say how much over the limit the diapers were or whether
they had caused any children to become ill.
Meanwhile, a top quality official defended the safety of
exported food.
"Ninety-nine percent of food exported to the United States was
up to safety standards over the past two years, which is a very
high percentage," Li Yuanping, who is in charge of imported and
exported food safety, was quoted as saying by the Xinhua News
Agency.
Most recently, the US Food and Drug Administration said it would
detain Chinese catfish, basa and dace, as well as shrimp and eel
after repeated testing turned up contamination with drugs that have
not been approved in America for use in farmed seafood.
In response, China's quality administration issued a number of
new measures designed to ensure the quality of exported farmed
seafood, telling its local bureaus to "fully understand the side
effects and major loss of the US decision to the Chinese seafood
industry."
In addition to stepped-up inspections and quarantine, the agency
said it would post on its website the names of companies that
violate regulations and ban them from export activities for two
years.
(China Daily July 6, 2007)