Tests show "plastic" seaweed imported from China is real

       Tests show seaweed imported from China thought to have been made of plastic is genuine, the Food and Drug Administration says.
       Narangsan Phirakit, the FDA deputy secretary-general, said no trace of plastic had been found in the seaweed samples bought at a supermarket in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima.
       Consumers alerted authorities to the dried seaweed which they believed was fake. Parts of the seaweed looked and felt like plastic.
       The tests were conducted by the Medical Sciences Department and the results revealed yesterday.
       The chemical component analysis of the samples showed the product was natural seaweed, Dr Narangsan said.
       Meanwhile, the FDA is considering banning the sale of "fashionable" dental braces following the death of a teenager in Khon Kaen.
       Jutamas Chaisong,17, a Mathayom 5 (Grade 11) student, was thought to have died from a thyroid infection and heart complications on Aug 23 after she was fitted with cosmetic dental braces by an unlicensed practitioner, police said.
       The Consumer Protection Board has ordered a temporary ban on the sale of the fashionable braces.
       The board maintains there was no proof of the product's safety.
       Phongphan Wongmanee, deputy secretary-general of the FDA, said dental braces were usually categorised as a medical instrument and could be fitted only by a licensed orthodontist.
       The safety and quality of the braces was strictly controlled by the FDA, Dr Phongphan said.
       The FDA also warned consumers against wearing counterfeit braces.
       A recent safety test on the braces sold by roadside vendors showed they contained hazardous substances such as lead and arsenic.