Are live insects present during the production process of sanitary napkins?

After over three decades of development, China's sanitary napkin production technology has attained world-class standards. Domestic manufacturers predominantly employ automated, high-speed, and enclosed production lines, with facilities and equipment rigorously maintained through strict cleaning and disinfection protocols, complemented by professional pest control measures. The manufacturing process involves high-speed roller winding, high-temperature hot-melt adhesive spraying, and high-pressure embossing, supported by high-resolution visual inspection systems that automatically detect and reject products with contaminants or foreign objects. The risk of live pests entering the production line and surviving in finished products is virtually nonexistent. Furthermore, raw materials such as non-woven fabrics for the outer layer, pulp for the absorbent core, and highly absorbent resins contain no nutrients essential for pest survival, rendering them incapable of thriving under these conditions.

Therefore, there are occasional consumer complaints about insects in the market regarding sanitary napkin products. How do insects arise? This primarily occurs due to various stages following the finished sanitary napkin products' release from the factory, including transportation, storage, sales, and post-purchase product preservation by consumers. Inappropriate handling at any of these stages may lead to insect infestation.

What are trace impurities? Can sanitary napkins contain trace impurities? Could they potentially affect women's health?

Trace impurities generally refer to minor substances present in products. They may originate from raw materials themselves, form during production processes, result from chemical reactions between product components or between components and packaging materials during normal storage, or leach from packaging materials. These impurities typically exist in extremely low concentrations (trace levels), such as a few milligrams or less per kilogram of consumer goods. Certain trace impurities commonly found in consumer products are widely distributed in nature, present in drinking water, soil, air, and even food. Consequently, they may contaminate products at one or multiple stages during the procurement of sanitary napkin raw materials, transportation, manufacturing of finished products, and packaging/storage processes.

The presence of trace impurities in sanitary pads does not necessarily indicate safety risks. When such impurities are detected, a comprehensive assessment of multiple factors is required to determine potential safety hazards. These factors include: the nature of the trace substance (i.e., its harmful properties and severity), its concentration in the product, the consumer's usage frequency and route (e.g., oral ingestion, inhalation, direct or indirect skin contact), and the product's usage frequency (e.g., daily use or monthly use). These factors are closely related to the final safety evaluation. If the product's trace impurities remain within the safety limits, the product is considered safe.