China probes claim of formamide in diapers
The State Administration for Market Regulation announced on Monday the launch of a joint investigation with other government agencies into the alleged presence of formamide in baby diapers.
The probe is being conducted jointly by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Health Commission, and the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration.
This follows the release of a media report on Thursday which claimed some consumers had reported their babies developing recurrent diaper rash and skin ulceration after using certain brands of infant diapers.
Third-party tests on several mainstream infant diaper products detected traces of formamide, and the substance was even found in the blood and urine of some infants, according to the media report.
In the wake of the report, a number of diaper brands, including Babycare, Huggies, and BIBAbebe, have stated that internal and external tests conducted on their products have shown no traces of the chemical.
In one of the latest responses, BIBAbebe said on its official social media account on Monday morning that it had commissioned third-party institutions to test all its mainstream products and found no presence of formamide. The company is continuing to test other batches of products and raw materials.
Formamide is classified as a substance of very high concern and a reproductive toxicant under European Union regulations.
“This means the substance won’t cause immediate poisoning, but it’s not safe for long-term, close, airtight contact — especially for babies,” said China-Test Group, an independent testing institution on Friday.
The institution said for babies, even tiny residues of the substance after wearing diapers can cause symptoms such as rash, redness, and allergies, and that long-term accumulation could affect their growth and development.
It added that legitimate diaper brands do not add formamide to their products, and any detections should be residual traces from the manufacturing process.
Products with complicated prints and thicker elastic bands are at higher risk of containing residual formamide.
The hygiene products committee of the China Technical Association of Paper Industry said in a statement released on Thursday that it is important to disclose the actual levels of the alleged formamide presence, who conducted the tests, and what standards, equipment, and testing methods were used, so as to determine the risk associated with these baby diapers.
wangxiaoyu@chinadaily.com.cn