One of 36 disposable winged sanitary napkin samples took 73 seconds to absorb the test liquid, exceeding the 60-second limit in mainland China’s recommended GB/T 8939-2018 standard. The Consumer Council also found that 19 samples did not state their principal ingredients or surface materials in Chinese or English.
The samples, bought from personal-care shops, supermarkets and online platforms, covered different claimed lengths and were divided into four groups. In the 22-centimetre-to-25-centimetre group, 12 products took between seven and 73 seconds to absorb 5 millilitres of simulated menstrual fluid. The council tested five pieces from each product for absorption speed.
The slowest sample was LadiM, which recorded 73 seconds. Another product in the same length group took 57 seconds, within the recommended limit. LadiM’s general agent submitted a factory test report saying the product met the GB/T 8939-2018 requirements, including absorption speed and full-length deviation, and said its samples came from the same production batch as those tested by the council.
The labelling gaps extended beyond materials. Five samples carried no local supplier information; one gave only an email address, while three provided only a company name without an address or telephone number. One sample had no information related to shelf life, and six listed only a production date without a shelf-life period or expiry date.
Hong Kong has no specific law or standard for sanitary napkin products, according to the council’s account, while the mainland recommendation requires relevant product information to be stated.
Other results reported by Ming Pao were more reassuring. All samples passed microbial testing, and their pH values ranged from 5.7 to 6.2. No sample contained formaldehyde, all passed testing for migratable fluorescent substances, and checks on size and weight consistency and backing-adhesive peel strength were satisfactory.
The Consumer Council recommended that local suppliers put complete contact details on product packaging.