Toothpaste producers in China will have to pass the country's quality safety license this year if they want their products to be on sale in the Chinese market, according to China's oral care product watchdog.

More than 90 percent of toothpastes sold in China now have certain medical or other additives, but there are no state standards on the quality safety of the products except those with fluorine content, said Chen Xiuxia, a senior engineer with the China Oral Care Products Industry Association.

"The association has submitted relevant standards for toothpaste with herbal additives to the government and is working on standards for clinical tests of toothpaste," said Chen, quoted by Sunday's Beijing Times.

Toothpaste producers must have their products pass the clinical tests at leading hospitals and provide authoritative clinical data to support the quality of the products, she said.

The government will designate special institutes for the authentification of toothpaste products in the future, and "our association is not yet qualified and will not participate in the authentification of the products," Chen said.

As the world's largest toothpaste producer, China turned out 5.2 billion tubes and earned a net profit of more than US$70 million in 2005, the association said Friday.

Some of the products are for teeth desensitization and whitening and other hygienical purposes.

(Xinhua News Agency May 15, 2006)