AmorePacific's toothpastes recalled for banned chemicals

AmorePacific toothpastes are placed on the desk of Rep. Lee Jung-mi of the Justice Party, who revealed during the parliamentary audit on Tuesday that they contain the same chemicals used in the toxic humidifier sterilizers. / Yonhap

By Kim Se-jeong, Lee Jin-a

Chemicals used in some toxic humidifier disinfectants were also found in famous toothpaste brands, according to the government.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Monday ordered a recall of 11 toothpaste products manufactured and sold by AmorePacific, saying the products contained methylisothiazolinone (MIT) and chloromethylisothiazolinone (CMIT).

The 11 brands include Median Fresh Forest Toothpaste, Median Fresh Marin Toothpaste, Median Vital Energy Toothpaste, Median Vital Clean Toothpaste and Median Vital Action Toothpaste. None of the brands has been exported officially, said a AmorePacific spokeswoman.

The two toxic substances are used as preservatives in the products, but using them as ingredients in toothpaste is banned in Korea.

“Between 0.0022 and 0.0044 parts per million (ppm) of MIT or CMIT were found in each product. But users rinse the product away with water after they brush their teeth, therefore no impact on health is expected,” the ministry said in its press release.

Although prohibited in Korea, they are still used by companies in Europe and in the United States, according to a ministry official. “As people use toothpaste everyday for dental hygiene, we applied stricter regulations for the products than many other countries do,” she said. “We only allow three chemicals — sodium benzoate, mythylparaben and propylparaben — as preservatives.”

In general, it is said the exposure of small amounts of MIT or CMIT does not harm a person’s health. The humidifier disinfectant victims were exposed to large amounts of the substances in short periods of time.

A supermarket staff member removes Median banners from the store in Seoul after the toxic toothpaste scandal emerged on Tuesday morning. / Yonhap

AmorePacific made a public apology and said it would follow up on the recall order. But company officials said the amount used was too tiny to have an impact on health.

But consumers reacted strongly to the news.

“Again? How can I trust those products?” one internet user wrote.

“So the government says the chemicals are harmful when they are used for humidifier disinfectants and inhaled, and they are okay when used for toothpastes and rinsed out of your mouth? I don’t know what the government is talking about,” another user wrote.

Rep. Lee Jeong-mi of the Justice Party criticized the ministry for failing to regulate the chemicals, and called for comprehensive research on consumer products. Miwon Commercial, a company that supplies the chemicals to AmorePacific, has been selling 12 materials containing MIT or CMIT to 30 companies in Korea and overseas, including Aekyung Group and Coreana Cosmetics.