The National Committee for Oral Health (NCOH) yesterday hit out at accusations that endorsements it has given to oral health products were illegal.

Zhang Boxue, vice-president of the organization, denied claims it did not have the legal right to endorse the items. Many manufacturers, including P&G and Lotte China Foods Co. Ltd., have used the endorsements to promote their products.

Chen Jiang, a lawyer in Shanghai, is suing the NCOH for illegally issuing endorsement and misleading consumers.

Chen said in his indictment that he began to suspect the objectivity and fairness of endorsements issued by NCOH, when he saw an article on xinhuanet.com saying that the group only has two people and two desks.

Chen, who bought a bottle of Lotte chewing gum, which carries the endorsement logo, said that he bought it out of his confidence in NCOH.

Chen claimed he then discovered NCOH did have the legal right to issue endorsements, and said he felt deceived.

Chen also lists the supermarket where he bought the gum, Lotte China Foods Co Ltd, and the Ministry of Health, in his indictment.

He is demanding an immediate suspension of the endorsement logo and nominal compensation for the price of the gum that he bought.

Zhang said he was "indignant" about the report that the organization had only two people and two desks.

He said NCOH actually consists of 55 members from 30 provinces and autonomous regions around the country, and also has seven expert committees.

"Our members are presidents of stomatology hospitals, and some well-known stomatologists," Zhang said.

Founded in 1988 under the approval of the Ministry of Health, NCOH is a stomatological expert guidance organization, which aims to promote the development of oral health protection, he said.

In 1992, NCOH set up a special committee to give endorsements to oral health care products.

"Promoting good oral health care products is part of our work, but just a very small part," Zhang said.

Ten brands from eight companies have received the endorsements.

"It is by no means a kind of commercial activity," Zhang said.

He added companies can use the NCOH endorsement logo for free once their products have passed tests.

In 2003, the State Council issued a regulation on endorsements, requiring all the endorsement organizations to be listed under the Certification and Accreditation Administration.

Zhang admitted that NCOH is not an exclusive endorsement organization in the field, but insisted that the endorsements they have issued are legal and reliable.

"There is no specific law regulating the accreditation of oral health care products, even now," he said.

Zhang said the standards they relied on in tests are based on international standards, such as the criteria of the American Dental Association.

He added: "It is good for the public to pay attention to this issue and I think it will promote the standardization in this trade," he said.

(China Daily March 22, 2006)