NCOH also set up a foundation for holding some oral health education programmes. The foundation was reported to have received large sums of donations from oral health producers. The biggest donation, 10 million yuan (US$1.25 million), was from the P&G Group. And Beijing Times also reported that in the contract between NCOH and the Snow Leopard Household Chemical Co Ltd, the company needed to donate 100,000 yuan (US$12,500) to the foundation annually.

Although Zhang said that all the funds were and will be used in education or other public interest programmes, he could not provide the audit report.

The NCOH was set up in November 2003 under the approval of the Ministry of Health for promoting oral health among the public. Although Zhang said the committee had 55 members of experts and officials, none of them are full time.

"I think the country should strengthen its management on such institutes," said Luo Yuan, an English teacher in Nanjing University of Technology.

"Now there are too many so-called experts, especially in ads. It is to sway and persuade consumers."