Who broke the condoms?

By Zhang Yiwei Source:Global Times Published: 2013-4-27 23:28:01

Photo: GT
Photo: GT

 

In what was both fodder for online comedy as well as a serious health scare, a batch of faulty condoms that were allegedly made in China and sold to Ghana had invisible holes, were too small and were not adequately lubricated.

It was no joke to the Ghanaian authorities however, who issued an alert earlier this month, stating that they had seized a large number of faulty condoms imported from China. They disclosed the batch numbers of the condoms to raise awareness of the problem and try to avert a health scare.

However, the Chinese manufacturer involved in the case said it was being unfairly blamed, and has sent representatives to Ghana to conduct further investigations.

This isn't the first time African authorities have claimed faulty products imported from China were posing public health risks. Recent accusations that fake drugs from China were entering the African market also made waves in terms of trade ties between Africa and China.

130 million problems

The Food and Drug Authority (FDA) of Ghana impounded 110 million faulty condoms imported from China after test results labeled them substandard, with another 20 million condoms already distributed to the market, James Largey, head of communications and public education at the FDA, told the Global Times.

The specific location and the name of the manufacturer don't appear on the condom packages, with only the words "Be Safe" in red and "Manufactured by PRC" on the packages.

After investigations and help from the import agency, the FDA discovered that the manufacturer was the Henan Xibei Latex Company, located in Xinxiang, Henan Province.

In Ghana, an estimated 230,000 people out of the population of 25 million are living with HIV, making authorities concerned about the 20 million faulty condoms already on the market. Largey told the Global Times that the fact people may not know the condoms are faulty is a big problem, as people may unknowingly be exposing others to pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases. 

The Henan Xibei Latex Company, a condom manufacturer launched in 2003 whose export sales represent more than 70 percent of its total sales, refuted the claims from the FDA, saying that the company provided just 25 million condoms to Ghana in June. It asserted in a statement on April 21 that its products lived up to test standards before clearing customs. And it sent out a three-person investigation group to Ghana on Monday. Calls to the company from the Global Times went unanswered as of press time.

Largey claimed that the name of the company was provided by the import agency, but he could not make claims as to its accuracy, because the manufacturer's identity was not included on the packages. He pointed out that imports that do not have the address of the manufacturer on the package are not allowed into the country, so there was the possibility that smuggling was involved.

Samples of the company's products have been collected by the Henan provincial food and drug administration to be tested. The company was ordered to suspend sales until the results are ready.

A confidential government source told the Global Times that the Chinese government wouldn't want to intervene or take a stand at this juncture, as the company should first try to deal with the problem.

Wave of counterfeits

A staff member from the Chinese embassy in Ghana told the Global Times that these "Be Safe" condoms are quite a famous product in Ghana. The source of the faulty condoms is still being investigated.

"There are three possibilities in this case," he said. "The faulty products may have been faked by local Ghanaian manufacturers, or produced by the Xibei Company, or come from other manufacturers in China." 

Largey admitted that the Be Safe condoms have been in Ghana for some time and they hadn't had problems with previous batches. But from the information he has received so far, the previous ones were not manufactured in China.

"But we are not saying that we are not permitting condoms from China," Largey said. "If we get condoms from China, we pick batches and we test them. If they are ok, we don't have any problem with that."

Fake medical supplies made in China are not new to Ghana. Beyond the current condom controversy, the FDA in March determined that medicines made by several Chinese pharmaceutical companies did not fulfill their function of controlling bleeding after childbirth, which could result in death.

Largey was careful to point out that Ghana does not "blame" China for faulty exports, and that there have also been problems with counterfeit products from other nations, such as India and Nigeria.

He said the FDA is strict when testing medicines imported from all countries, and was not singling China out.

However, he did admit that given the increase in fake medicine products from China, they have advised consumers to be cautious when purchasing these products.

"We have received medicine from China that's very good," he said. "But because of the more frequent issue of this problem, it looks like people are getting discouraged from Chinese products, especially medicines."

China was harshly criticized in February by Western media outlets for an alleged flood of counterfeit drugs entering Africa. China's foreign ministry responded by saying the reports were groundless rumors, pointing out that the anti-malarial medicine made in China was of high quality, and was welcomed by the public in Africa.

Reputation 'Made In China'

Chinese Web users were keen to mock the condom issue, and made jokes indicating that the Ghanaians were poking fun at Chinese men by saying the condoms were too small.

But, jokes aside, instances like these have had a real impact on China's reputation.

A report released in April from the UN Office on Drugs and Crimes gave a damning indictment of Chinese products, stating that China has become the world's workshop, producing a significant share of the world's manufactured goods, but also a large share of the counterfeits.

It said that at least two-thirds of the world's counterfeits are exported directly from China, while an unknown share may be shipped from China, then through other countries, concealing the origin.

The standard that China sets for manufacturers is rather low, resulting in lapses in some products' quality, an exporter surnamed Qiu from Zhejiang Province told the Global Times.

Qiu's company exports products to developing countries in Southeast Asia. He said that companies that produce products for overseas brands are usually of higher quality because their clients demand it.

"But in the places where I export to, compared with rivals, Chinese manufacturers do have an edge in terms of technology and quality. And that's why products made in China have a promising future in these countries," he said.

 



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