A tissue of falsehoods? Why China’s paper towel makers may be letting down customers
Quality standards inspectors find banned materials, high levels of bacteria and misleading claims on packaging
Over a third of table tissues and nearly 10 per cent of toilet paper being sold in Chinese markets do not meet minimum standards, state television reported on Sunday.
A survey by Jiangsu province’s quality inspection authority also found that many table tissue packs contained fewer tissues than the packaging claimed and were made of recycled fibre, a banned material, China Central Television reported.
Some of them also failed in wet tensile tests, meaning they would split while wiping a wet mouth.
The major problem for toilet paper was the levels of bacteria found in unopened packs, with the worst product sampled containing four times the permitted amount.
The survey sampled 88 batches of table tissues and 74 batches of toilet paper, finding that 28 of the former and seven of the latter did not meet requirements.