Pringles fears rejected
Chicago, December 8, 2007
Pringles potato chips are not made with an additive banned in China, Procter & Gamble Co, which markets the potato chips, said.
China state media had reported that a batch of chips had been blocked from import.
The batch of barbecue-flavored chips was blocked in July for containing potassium bromate, a flour-enhancing additive, according to a notice posted on the Web site of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, China's quality watchdog.
But P&G spokesman Paul Fox said independent tests showed the additive is not used in making Pringles and that P&G suppliers also confirmed that they do not use potassium bromate, Fox said.
P&G said an independent Chinese laboratory found no potassium bromate in Pringles products produced in China and the Food Processing Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln found no potassium bromate in Pringles products made in a US plant for the Asian market.
The Chinese government has not requested any marketplace actions by P&G and other governments in the region have also said the products do not contain the additive, P&G said.
'There is no product withdrawal in any market,' P&G spokeswoman Kay Puryear said.
Puryear said P&G could not comment specifically about the batch that had been blocked from China, which was being brought in by an independent importer not affiliated with P&G.