Mixed reactions from mothers

Zhang Cuiyun is a mother who will be insisting on buying only Chinese products.

The 29-year-old customs officer in Shenzhen, who has a nine-month-old boy, Xiao Bei, said she believed some Johnson & Johnson products were bad for babies, even before the recent health scare.

"I have more confidence in Chinese brands than foreign ones because my friends use them for their babies and I have been brought up on them," she said.

She is particularly concerned about Johnson's baby powder.

"I don't actually like baby powder since it is made of talcum powder and I think it is bad for people's bodies," she said.

"I prefer to use domestic lotion products such as Yumeijing and Haiermian. I think they are much better for the skin," she said.

Xu Xiaodan, 30, who lives in Beijing and works as an editor, is the mother of Chu Chu, a one-year-old girl.

She said she is not concerned about the latest health scare surrounding Johnson & Johnson baby powder.

"I still use Johnson & Johnson baby powder for my baby, since I have already bought it and don't want to waste it," she said.

"When I use the powder, I only use a small amount each time so I doubt whether it is likely to have any adverse impact on Chu Chu."

Xu said she continues to have complete confidence in other Johnson & Johnson products since they have not been implicated in the current health scare.

"It is reported that baby bath products produced by Johnson & Johnson China met with the country's regulations on cosmetic formaldehyde, so I have confidence that they are safe," she said.

"If you believed every health scare, you would never buy anything, since there are so many reports about the supposed adverse effects of the things we consume," she said.

Zhang in Shenzhen, however, firmly believes there are no products that can beat traditional methods of caring for your baby.

"I also think there is no substitute for properly washing your baby since it is more natural," she said.

(China Daily 04/27/2009 page8)