EcoWaste Coalition Sounds Warning Bell over Mercury-Laced Cosmetics from Pakistan, Asks FDA to Nip Illegal Trade in the Bud
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Beware: dangerous mercury-laden skin creams
are not only coming from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, but also
from far away Pakistan.
The EcoWaste Coalition, a toxics watchdog, made this shocking discovery during its market surveillance on August 4, 2014 in Pasay City.
“This is the first time that we came across a skin whitening product loaded with toxic mercury from Pakistan, which is over 5,700 kilometers away from our country,” said Aileen Lucero, Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition.
Last Monday, the group bought “Golden Pearl Beauty Cream” for P350 from Ammar Collections, a shop selling “made in Pakistan” garments at the second floor of Baclaran Bagong Milenyo Plaza, F.B. Harrison St., Pasay City.
Subsequent analysis using a portable X-Ray Fluoresence device detected 5,785 parts per million (ppm) of mercury in the product, way above the 1 ppm allowable limit for mercury under the Asean Cosmetics Directive.
“The product was obviously smuggled into the country as it is not covered by any market authorization from the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA),” Lucero noted.
“If this illegal trade isn’t nipped in the bud, it will soon get out of hand, harm susceptible consumers and pollute the environment. We therefore ask the FDA, the Bureau of Customs and other agencies to thwart this unlawful traffic of mercury laden cosmetics from Pakistan,” she emphasized.
The group also revealed that the government of the United Kingdom in February 2013 ordered the withdrawal of Golden Pearl Beauty Cream from the market because “the product poses a chemical risk because it contains a mercury compound as a skin-lightening substance.”
According to the European Union’s RAPEX, the rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products, UK from 2009 to 2013 has withdrawn a total of 17 skin lightening products from Pakistan due to their mercury content.
“This should serve as a warning bell to consumers of skin lightening cosmetics from abroad with undisclosed mercury content that can spell serious trouble for human health,” Lucero stressed.
The World Health Organization has warned that inorganic mercury contained in skin lightening creams causes kidney damage, skin rashes, skin discoloration and scarring, as well as reduces skin’s resistance to bacterial and fungal infections.
“Mercury and its compounds can enter the body by ingestion, inhalation or dermal contact, causing damaging effects that are not immediately obvious, but increasing and building up over time,” Lucero said.
As per the product insert, “Golden Pearl Beauty is the best skin whitening formulation… the only cream that clears pimples, wrinkles, marks, hives even shadows under the eyes and turns your skin white.”
The product promises to “make you much looking gorgeous that you won’t believe.”
“Don’t be swayed by these overstated claims. Don’t spend your hard-earned money to buy a perfect poison for your kidneys and skin. It is your right as consumer to have access to complete and truthful product information, including its chemical materials,” Lucero advised the public.
While the label lists a number of ingredients, it failed to mention that the product contains mercury, Lucero pointed out.
-end-
Reference:
http://www.distancefromto.net/distance-from/Philippines/to/Pakistan
http://www.who.int/ipcs/assessment/public_health/mercury_flyer.pdf
The EcoWaste Coalition, a toxics watchdog, made this shocking discovery during its market surveillance on August 4, 2014 in Pasay City.
“This is the first time that we came across a skin whitening product loaded with toxic mercury from Pakistan, which is over 5,700 kilometers away from our country,” said Aileen Lucero, Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition.
Last Monday, the group bought “Golden Pearl Beauty Cream” for P350 from Ammar Collections, a shop selling “made in Pakistan” garments at the second floor of Baclaran Bagong Milenyo Plaza, F.B. Harrison St., Pasay City.
Subsequent analysis using a portable X-Ray Fluoresence device detected 5,785 parts per million (ppm) of mercury in the product, way above the 1 ppm allowable limit for mercury under the Asean Cosmetics Directive.
“The product was obviously smuggled into the country as it is not covered by any market authorization from the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA),” Lucero noted.
“If this illegal trade isn’t nipped in the bud, it will soon get out of hand, harm susceptible consumers and pollute the environment. We therefore ask the FDA, the Bureau of Customs and other agencies to thwart this unlawful traffic of mercury laden cosmetics from Pakistan,” she emphasized.
The group also revealed that the government of the United Kingdom in February 2013 ordered the withdrawal of Golden Pearl Beauty Cream from the market because “the product poses a chemical risk because it contains a mercury compound as a skin-lightening substance.”
According to the European Union’s RAPEX, the rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products, UK from 2009 to 2013 has withdrawn a total of 17 skin lightening products from Pakistan due to their mercury content.
“This should serve as a warning bell to consumers of skin lightening cosmetics from abroad with undisclosed mercury content that can spell serious trouble for human health,” Lucero stressed.
The World Health Organization has warned that inorganic mercury contained in skin lightening creams causes kidney damage, skin rashes, skin discoloration and scarring, as well as reduces skin’s resistance to bacterial and fungal infections.
“Mercury and its compounds can enter the body by ingestion, inhalation or dermal contact, causing damaging effects that are not immediately obvious, but increasing and building up over time,” Lucero said.
As per the product insert, “Golden Pearl Beauty is the best skin whitening formulation… the only cream that clears pimples, wrinkles, marks, hives even shadows under the eyes and turns your skin white.”
The product promises to “make you much looking gorgeous that you won’t believe.”
“Don’t be swayed by these overstated claims. Don’t spend your hard-earned money to buy a perfect poison for your kidneys and skin. It is your right as consumer to have access to complete and truthful product information, including its chemical materials,” Lucero advised the public.
While the label lists a number of ingredients, it failed to mention that the product contains mercury, Lucero pointed out.
-end-
Reference:
http://www.distancefromto.net/distance-from/Philippines/to/Pakistan
http://www.who.int/ipcs/assessment/public_health/mercury_flyer.pdf
http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/safety/rapex/alerts/main/index.cfm?event=main.search (search for “Golden Pearl Beauty Cream, 2013”
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