Aust Winner 澳洲长风论坛

[sunshinecustoms]

New Zealand health officials today published the names of 16 Chinese-made toothpaste products found to contain "unacceptable levels" of diethylene glycol.

Diethylene glycol is an industrial solvent used in paint and antifreeze, and can cause kidney and liver damage.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission spokeswoman Lin Enright said Australia had a ban in place on toothpaste containing 0.25 per cent of diethylene glycol.

Known suppliers had been advised of the ban and recalls of toothpastes with high levels of diethylene glycol had already taken place in Australia, she said.

But this includes only two of the 16 products identified as unsafe by New Zealand officials, the ACCC's product recall register shows.

These were the Tri Leaf Spearmint Toothpaste, recalled on August 14, and Excel Toothpaste, recalled in May.

Of the remaining nine products, Ms Enright said it was difficult to confirm if they were being sold in Australia, because most toothpastes did not need to be registered with the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

"We do regular product surveys [for safety] and those products will be looked out for in surveys that are coming up," she said.

The ACCC had a "co-operation agreement" with New Zealand's consumer watchdog and would seek information from New Zealand to determine whether further action was required here, she said.

Consumer advocates last week called for an overhaul of Australia's product safety system, arguing a lack of integration was placing Australian consumers at risk of unsafe products.

"We need a national body ... not the hodge-podge of laws involving the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and state bodies. That doesn't give the mantle of safety," Choice spokesman Christopher Zinn said last week.

Products identified as containing diethylene glycol in New Zealand are:

Excel 120g
Maxam 120g
Evafresh 90g
Tian Qi in green/yellow pack 105g
Hei Mei Cpp 160g Hei Mei Cpp 105g
Hei Mei with green/yellow pack 160g
Hei Mei with green/yellow pack 105g (two samples)
Hei Mei in yellow pack with monkey detail 42g
Hei Mei in green pack 160g
Mr Cool 120g
Mr Fresh 120g
Dr Cool 120g
Smile 2 120g
Crescent 181g
Tri Leaf Spearmint 145g.