[FOCUS] Sales of Huggies baby products banned in S. Korea for excessive methanol

By Park Sae-jin Posted : January 13, 2017, 15:40 Updated : January 13, 2017, 15:40

[Courtesy of Yuhan-Kimberly ]


South Korean baby care communities are roaring with angry voices from young mothers as the food and drug watchdog ordered a recall Friday and banned sales of sanitary wet baby wipes manufactured by a local joint venture of US-based Kimberly-Clark Corp.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said 10 Yuhan-Kimberly products were banned for containing an excessive level of methanol. The recalled products include seven types of wet wipes using the worldwide baby product brand name "Huggies" and three from Yuhan's own baby products brand, "Green Finger".

Immediately after the watchdog's order, "Huggies wet wipes" became the day's top search keyword in South Korea's largest portal, Naver. Concerned and angry voices are erupting as the banned products were the most loved baby care brand.

Methanol appeared to have been unintentionally added into the products during their manufacturing process, the watchdog said. As a result, methanol content exceeded the legally permitted level of 0.002 percent.

Yuhan-Kimberly and Huggies have been widely used as the most trusted baby care products in South Korea. Methanol could cause nausea, dizziness and permanent blindness if it is inhaled in large quantities.

The watchdog assured the public that the amount of methanol contained in Huggies wet wipes would not affect the health of adults, but online child caring communities are buzzing with doubtful or angry comments.

"The maker claimed the wet wipes contain no harmful substances. They even have it written on the cover of their products. I will never buy Yuhan and Huggies products again," said a young mother "Zero" from an online baby care community.

Another mother "Huk" wrote: "I feel betrayed, because I have two boxes of those wet wipes. I will throw them away. I don't want their products anymore."

The investigation was not over as the watchdog promised to find out how the methanol was unintentionally added to the products, which would be put back on the shelves only if the company takes corrective measures.

"We will expand our investigation out to other products in distribution to verify their safety, to establish a trusted shopping environment where consumers can buy sanitary products without worries," the watchdog said in a statement.

Diapers and other products produced by the Yuhan-Kimberly joint venture established in 1970 are popular in China and other Asian countries. In March last year, Elane Stock, president of Kimberly-Clark International, promised to develop Yuhan-Kimberly as an outpost for research and development, describing South Korea as a test bed the company's global and Asian markets.

Diapers, baby wipes, sanitary pads, senior underwear produced in South Korea have been exported to more than 30 countries through a global network of Kimberly-Clark.

The methanol case came amid a widespread health scare caused by deadly humidifier disinfectants that killed more than 100 people, including pregnant women and infants.

Last week, a dozen people received jail terms of up to seven years, including those from Oxy Reckitt Benckiser Korea, the local branch of a British firm. The company was accused of failing to conduct a safety test despite a warning from German researchers about the inhalation toxicity of chemicals.

 
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