China questions US warning on toothpaste

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Source: CCTV.com | 06-04-2007 14:00

Chinese made Mr. Cool toothpaste is displayed for the camera at the control and registry office of the Ministry of Health in San Jose, Costa Rica Friday May 25, 2007. (AP Photo/Kent Gilbert)

The Chinese government says the US has contradicted its own standards by warning against using toothpaste made in China. The country is closely watching the seizure and is urging the US to clarify the facts and resolve the situation.

China's food safety authority says US importers submitted the formula for China's toothpaste exports to the US Food and Drug Administration before shipment. And levels of di-ethylene glycol, or DEG, were indicated on the packaging.

Li Yuanping, official general Admin. of Quality Supervision, said, "All the toothpastes were registered with the FDA and approved to be distributed in the United States. So the seizure and warning are neither scientific nor responsible. They are self-contradictory."

Last Friday, the FDA warned consumers to avoid using toothpaste labeled as made in China. It also issued an import alert to prevent toothpaste containing the chemical DEG from entering the US. FDA inspectors identified and detained one shipment of toothpaste at the US border, containing about 3 percent DEG by weight.

However, Chinese scientists insists low levels of the industrial solvent DEG are harmless in toothpaste. And according to an EU standard, 0.5mg of DEG per kilogram is safe.

Chen Junshi, Academic China Academy of Engineers, said, "The di-ethylene glycol functions as a lubricant in toothpaste. Without it the product will dry very quickly. It doesn't have any color or taste and is harmless to the human body. It also has no elements that can cause deformities or cancer."

In 2000, after carrying out tests on 2,000 people, Chinese experts said toothpaste containing less than 15.6 percent of DEG was harmless to humans. There have been no reports of people being poisoned by the chemical in China.

Editor:Du Xiaodan