Chinese women are getting concerned over issues on tainted feminine pads that are sold in the market. (Photo : Getty Images)
Two suspects were arrested by Chinese police for the manufacturing and distribution of fake sanitary napkins. The facility that produced the products did not have a sanitation facility.
A test was run for 60 batches of sanitary pads from domestic producers that the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine. The test was held in the first quarter of the year, only three were found to be of substandard quality.
However, China Consumer Report last year released a contrary report that identified 10 sanitary napkin brands that contained fluorescent whitening agents. This agent can cause cancer to its users.
Zhou Xiaojing, a professional from Beijing, read the report and decided to switch brands.
She said, "It is in direct contact with the body, so it's worthwhile even though overseas ones are more expensive."
Professor Shen Yongjia, from the East China University of Science and Technology's school of chemistry and molecular engineering, said that whitening agents aren't proven to be harmful to people's health.
"Everyone is in contact with paper, notebooks, napkins and detergent powder, which all contain whitening agents. But there have been no reports of them directly harming people's health after so many years," Shen said.
"Even though fluorescent whitening agents are harmful to health, the quantity used is so small that it can be overlooked," he added.
Another expert, Dr. Ma Liangkun, from Peking Union Medical College Hospital's obstetrics and gynecology department, said, "It's not that easy to catch gynecological diseases if the pad is changed every two hours."
On Thursday, many microbloggers in Sino Weibo were outraged with the report.
"Why would someone want to hurt me at my most vulnerable?" asked social media user Sandler.
Some users said that the arrested criminals should be given the death penalty.
