As health authorities are busy protecting Chinese people from food contaminated by harmful plasticizers such as DEHP, DMP, and DBP, the risk seems to be spreading into the pharmaceutical industry.
Tests on a French antibiotic for children showed that it contained 80% didecyl phthalate (DIDP), twice the safe limit, Hong Kong's Department of Health announced on the 9th of June. The product has been recalled by the company.
The use of DIDP, a plasticizer, is not uncommon in China's mainland, especially for the coating of capsules, Wang Jianxin, deputy director of the pharmacy department at Fudan University, told a reporter.
The Ministry of Health added DIDP to the list of illegal substances in food on the 1st of June, after the outbreak of plasticizers incident, while many consumers have raised questions about the use of DIDP in medicines.
An opportunity to do things right
In order to ease the tension, the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) confirmed on Wednesday that three kinds of plasticizers, DMP, DEP, and DBP, are legally recognized in China's 2010 Pharmacopoeia as inert in drug production and, therefore, safe.
Although most people do not take medicine often and usually in small amounts, the authorities should not ignore the risks, as the chemicals are scientifically proven to be harmful to human health, medical experts said.
Wang called for a change to the pharmacopoeia. "There is a gaping hole in the study of plasticizers in medical uses," he said. "Since the (plasticizer) crisis has attracted the public's attention now and impacted the industry greatly, it is an opportunity to do things right."
Shen Jingkang, former deputy head of the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, suggested that producers use non-toxic alternatives, such as raw materials like lactic acid, to replace DIDP. "Although such alternatives cost more, they are safe," said Shen.
"Medicine for children is a sensitive product for the public. If Taiwan and Hong Kong have taken action, the Chinese mainland authorities should follow suit," said Wang, suggesting relevant bureaus halt the sales of these medicines until the release of test results.
False alarm for instant noodles
After several incidents, supermarkets across the country stopped selling instant noodles, including the Japanese brand Nissin Taisho and the South Korean brand Nong Shim earlier this week. Hong Kong media reported that excessive amounts of the cancer-causing plasticizer DEHP were found in the Chinese-made instant noodle brands in Hong Kong.
Supermarket chains such as Carrefour, Walmart, and Wu Mart removed these brands from the shelves after extensive checks. The person in charge at a Wu Mart said last night that the company would pay close attention to any food-related problems caused by plasticizers
The good news, however, is that the results from a variety of independent tests have given the noodles the all-clear.
The Japanese and South Korean brands of instant noodles made in China are now back on supermarket shelves following the release of authoritative test results.
Concern not over yet
Despite the relief over instant noodles, wide-spread concern on plasticizers is not over.
In Taiwan, public concern over the safety of the strawberry-flavored antibiotic Augmentin Syrup, produced by leading healthcare company GlaxoSmithKline, was widespread around June 9 after it was found to contain 14.8 to 18.1 parts per million of the banned plasticizer DIDP.
Several local hospitals suspended the use of the medicine, although the local health department said the amount of the plasticizer in drugs was within safe limits.
On the mainland, the SFDA banned two food products containing plasticizers on June 3 and is now closely monitoring the use of plasticizers by checking and sampling relevant goods.
