Photo: Screenshot of Weibo video

Authorities in Zhangzhou, East China's Fujian Province, said that investigations have revealed two anti-bacterial creams produced by a local company contain hormones, a banned additive for sanitary disinfectant products in China, amid a regional consumer goods scare that has caused a five-month-old baby girl's head to balloon like a real-life Michelin Man. 

Per a third-party investigation, Zhangzhou authorities declared that the two anti-bacterial creams produced by Fujian Ouai Children's Health Care Products Co contain hormone called clobetasol propionate.

Local police are pursuing the case on charges of production and sale of fake and inferior-quality goods. Police have summoned key personnel from the company for questioning. The baby creams are used for treatment of eczema.

Investigators comprised of health officials, market regulators, industrial officials and public security officers traveled to East China's Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces to visit the sales channel, hospitals and the affected family to assess the situation, after the incident caused an uproar on Chinese social media platforms.

According to the video blogger who exposed the incident, this anti-bacterial cream contained excessive amounts of hormones, causing side effects in more than 80 babies, 10 of whom suffered severe symptoms.

Previous reports of problematic products and food for babies in China have made many parents wary of buying them, but accidents have continued to occur in recent years.

Fujian Ouai previously responded to media queries on January 8 saying that there was no problem with their product and the child's parents had overhyped the risks.

Global Times