Police in Xianju county in Taizhou city , East China's Zhejiang province, arrested 41 suspects for producing and selling fake sanitary towels on Tuesday, local newspaper Modern Gold News reported on Wednesday.

According to the report, police found more than 16 million pieces of fake sanitary towels of some well-known brands, and 200,000 packages with forged trademarks.

The group has been selling the sanitary towels since August 2008, and has sold more than 30 million packages, the report said. The illegal products were sold in 17 provinces, cities and autonomous regions, mainly in small supermarkets in rural areas.

The fake sanitary towels were made by the elderly, women and children in a crude warehouse, the report said. Using the fake sanitary towels can cause inflammation and pruritus, the report said.