Toothpaste harmless, mainland body says

Mainland toothpaste brands being recalled from sale in Hong Kong because they contain a chemical scientists say is potentially lethal are in fact harmless and should go back on sale, the mainland's safety watchdog said.

Politicians said the intervention was unusual. One said it smacked of political pressure.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine has asked Hong Kong's customs department to provide a detailed report about why it ordered an importer of three brands of toothpaste to stop supplying shops.

The mainland watchdog said mainland tests had shown toothpastes containing less than 15.6 per cent diethylene glycol would cause humans no harm. Hong Kong government laboratory tests showed the three brands - Maxam, Sanqi and Tianqi - contained 0.2 per cent to 7.5 per cent diethylene glycol.

As well as ordering a halt to supplies, the customs department advised the public not to buy or use the three brands, which were banned last week in Singapore. US authorities have also banned the import and sale of mainland-made toothpastes containing the chemical.

The customs department had no comment on the mainland's request.

Diethylene glycol is an industrial solvent and is also used as a coolant in antifreeze. It has also been used in medicines as a substitute for glycerin, causing a series of mass poisonings. Cough syrup made with mainland-produced diethylene glycol killed up to 100 people in Panama this year.