Probiotics claim to clear Helicobacter pylori

Recently, the reporter noticed on the Weibo platform that some netizens reported that many third-party sellers on the Jingdong platform sold products marked as "solid drinks" and "candy" on the packaging, claiming to be able to treat Helicobacter
pylori.

Searching on the Jingdong platform with "Helicobacter pylori" as the keyword, there are indeed many products that claim to be able to "remove ghost", "clean quiet" and "go ghostly", involving brands such as Tongrentang and Jiangzhong Pharmaceutical, as well as imported brands
such as pylocura in Germany and Lifespace in Australia.

Can ordinary food replace medicine?

The pylocura probiotic sold in the store called "No.
7 Cosmeceutical's Overseas Official Flagship Store" attracted the attention of reporters, because the seller marked the word "blue hat certification" at the bottom of the display page of the product, but there was no exclusive "blue hat" logo
for health food on the outer packaging of the product.
In response to this situation, the reporter asked the customer service staff of the store, and after verification, the product did not obtain the health food approval certificate and filing certificate
in China.
After refreshing the sales page again, the so-called "Blue Hat Certification" label for the product has been removed
.

It is understood that the health food logo "blue hat" is a health food exclusive mark registered or filed in accordance with the law, and it can not be obtained through "certification", and the so-called "blue hat certification" has no legal basis
.

In fact, although these products sold on the platform that claim to be able to "remove ghost" contain probiotic ingredients, they are neither health food nor medicines, and belong to ordinary foods
.
Zhang Yongjian, director of the Food and Drug Industry Development and Supervision Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that the so-called "nutritional dietary supplements" claimed by merchants, if they have been reviewed and approved by relevant national institutions, have a health food batch number, can be claimed functionally, and "blue hat" can be marked on the product label; If "blue hat" is not labeled, it is ordinary food
.

The reporter also noticed that anti-pyloric imported products were included in the Jingdong ranking as a special category, but the top 10 products on the list are the so-called "nutritional dietary supplements", and there is no health food batch number and "blue hat" logo, but some products are marked with efficacy in the introduction column, and health care functions
are marked.
Some products even claim that they don't even need to take quadruple medicine after taking it
.
It is precisely because of these publicity that some consumers do not consult a doctor after testing positive for Helicobacter pylori, but directly buy probiotics to eat
.

Helicobacter pylori (HP) is the only bacterium
found to survive in the stomach.
It is understood that nearly half of the country's people are currently infected with Helicobacter pylori, which is mainly because the dining habits of our people are mostly shared meals and rarely use male chopsticks, which is easy to lead to cross-infection, so "anti-ghost" products have a certain market
in China.
However, infection with Helicobacter pylori may not have symptoms, and only a small number of people will have peptic ulcers, chronic active gastritis and even gastric malignancies
.
Helicobacter pylori eradication regimens contain large doses of antibiotics and bismuth and are long
.

Probiotic applications require more solid and authoritative evidence

What is the basis on which these common foods claim to be able to remove Helicobacter pylori? Professional certification, scientific experiments are the main publicity stunts of such foods
.
Imported products are reflected in Australian TGA certification, European NSF certification, US FDA certification, and domestic products are reflected in patented
inventions.
Take a product called "Jiangzhong Elimination" of Jiangzhong Pharmaceutical as an example, which claims six major patents, and the reporter searched one of the anti-Helicobacter pylori patents in the patent search system of the State Intellectual Property Office
.
The page shows that the invention relates to a Lactobacillus CN2018, CGMCC No.
4286 and its uses, and the abstract of the patent states that "it has the effect of preventing or mitigating the degree of infection in mice infected with Helicobacter pylori"
.

In this regard, the reporter consulted Lv Fujing
, chief physician of the Department of Gastroenterology of Beijing Friendship Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University.
Lv Fujing said that the treatment of Helicobacter pylori by intestinal probiotics is currently controversial, the efficacy is not exact, even if there is a certain inhibitory effect, the inhibitory effect is very weak, and it will not become the main way to "remove the ghost", so many doctors will not recommend probiotic products
to infected people.
The eradication of Helicobacter pylori is mainly based on triple or quadruple standard treatment, and the reason why there are probiotic products claiming "demycesing" function may be based on intestinal dysbacteriosis
caused by antibiotic treatment.
Clinical studies of probiotics on Helicobacter pylori require large-scale samples, and small-scale samples do not reflect differences
.

Zhang Yongjian said that whether it is so-called certification or patent, the food sold in China must be in accordance with China's laws and regulations, and Article 38 of the Regulations for the Implementation of the Food Safety Law clearly stipulates that "other foods other than health food shall not claim to have health care functions"; Moreover, even health food does not have the function of treating Helicobacter pylori, and health food is not a medicine and cannot replace the treatment of diseases
.

Relevant persons from the Beijing Chaoyang District Market Supervision Bureau believe that the product with a certain function and its preparation method mentioned in the patent name only refers to whether the preparation method of the product has novelty and inventive step (new creation).

It is okay to appear in the advertisement the name of the patented technology, but if it states that the product has a certain function or performance, it needs a test report or experimental data
.
The possession or use of patented technology does not mean that the product has a patented function
.
In other words, patents are theories, and advertising efficacy is practical effects
.
Therefore, the use of a certain patent in the product cannot be equated with whether the product can achieve the nominal efficacy of the patented technology
.
The person added
.

Coincidentally, probiotic food publicity has "overturned" more than once
.
In 2022, many of the typical cases of the "iron fist" operation in the field of people's livelihood announced by the State Administration for Market Regulation involved probiotic foods (the fourth and eighth batches respectively).

As early as September 2021, Shanghai Internet refuted rumors (the certification subject is Jiefang Daily) released a "Drinking × Leduo can prevent and treat the new crown?" Merchants steal the concept of false propaganda" to refute the rumored content
.
According to the Shanghai Pudong New Area Market Supervision Bureau, a company in Shanghai promoted "probiotics play an important role in the prevention and treatment of the new coronavirus" and cited the "Diagnosis and Treatment Plan for Pneumonia Infected by the New Coronavirus" as the basis
.
Although the eighth version of the trial diagnosis and treatment plan has appeared in the expression "intestinal microecological modulators can be used to maintain intestinal microecological balance and prevent secondary bacterial infections", such statements only indicate that microecological modifiers help maintain intestinal microecological balance, not prevent or treat new coronary pneumonia; In addition, medical intestinal microbiome regulators have a list, which can not be replaced
by ordinary probiotic solid drinks.

Probiotic health foods that can make functional claims dare not say that they can replace drug treatment, but some ordinary foods dare to "take a bold step"
in illegal publicity by stealing concepts.

With the deepening and improvement of people's understanding of probiotics, the current consensus in the industry on probiotics is that although probiotics have functional attributes that are beneficial to health, they must be based on scientific and rigorous clinical trial evaluation and evidence-based medical evidence
.

What are the responsibilities of Internet information service providers?

So, what is the nature of the platform's relevant leaderboard? A relevant person from the Beijing Chaoyang District Market Supervision Bureau said that the JD list is not like a natural data ranking, but more like a bidding ranking
.
First, because the top two are platform-operated products; Second, because from the perspective of the number of buyers and the number of days to dominate the list, the third place has more advantages
in data than the second place.
Therefore, if only judging from the data of the displayed page, the reason for the current ranking should be the result of
platform selection.

The relevant provisions on auction ranking advertisements are specifically reflected
in the Interim Measures for the Administration of Internet Advertising (hereinafter referred to as the "Interim Measures").
The auction position is an ad operator
.
The Interim Measures stipulate that internet advertising activities must not use false statistical data, dissemination effects, or internet media values to induce false quotations, seek improper benefits, or harm the interests of
others.

The person said that there are two types of platform parties, one is engaged in business or participated in the publication of advertisements, and needs to be liable; One is that as an Internet information service provider, in principle, it does not need to bear direct responsibility, but for violations within the platform, it is necessary to take active actions under the circumstances of knowing or should have known, such as reporting to the administrative supervision department, deleting problem pages, removing problem products, and taking measures to close stores in the store
.
In summary, as an Internet information service provider, there are both managerial responsibilities and indirect responsibilities
due to inadequate management.

(China Market Regulation News reporter Jin Yuanyuan)