China yesterday blamed Panamanian traders for falsifying documents on a
Chinese chemical product that resulted in the deaths of dozens of Panamanian
people who took tainted medicine.
"The Panamanian merchants are mainly responsible because they changed the
scope of use and shelf-life," said Wei Chuanzhong, vice minister of the General
Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.
The product, "TD glycerin," an industrial solvent, was made by the Taixing
Glycerin Factory, in eastern Jiangsu province, and sold by state-owned Beijing
distributor CNSC Fortune Way to Spanish firm Rasfer in 2003.
Investigations showed that Taixing used a confusing product name, "TD
glycerin," and failed to clearly indicate the product ingredients, which
included toxic diethylene glycol.
The company also used the trade mark "Glicerine" which was also
inappropriate.
"But the Chinese company confirmed with the Spanish company that the product
could not be used in pharmaceuticals in China and its shelf-life was one year,"
said Wei.
According to evidence provided by the United States Food and Drug
Administration and a Panamanian government statement, Panamanian merchants
bought the products from the Spanish company and changed the product name into
"pure glycerin," which is allowed to be used in pharmaceuticals in the US. They
also changed its shelf-life to four years.
"When the falsified products were used by pharmaceutical companies in Panama,
they had been expired for two years," said Wei. In October 2006, dozens of
Panamanians died after taking diethylene glycol-tainted medicine.
Wei also said the alleged toxic toothpaste imported from China to Panama was
up to safe standards.
He said the two brands of toothpastes, Mr Cool and Excel, were exported from
the legally registered Danyang Chengshi Household Chemical Co in Jiangsu
Province.