Group Warns Consumers vs Toxic Skin Cream with Mercury (Made in Malaysia, Banned in Brunei, Sold in the Philippines)
Beware: a skin whitening cream made
in Malaysia that the government of Brunei recently banned
due to its mercury content is being offered for sale in Quiapo, Manila.
The EcoWaste Coalition, a toxics watch group, alerted the public following the
dissemination last March 26 of the ASEAN Post-Marketing Alert System (PMAS)
report by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the mercury-laden
Temulawak New Day & Night Beauty Whitening Cream.
According to the PMAS report, Temulawak, which is made in Malaysia, was
banned from the market by the Ministry of Health of Brunei after being
found positive for mercury by the Department of Pharmaceutical Services.
“Temulawak is among the skin whitening cosmetics we bought in July 2017 and
subjected to chemicals screening that detected 1,128 parts per million (ppm) of
mercury on the night cream, way above the allowable limit of 1 ppm,” said Thony
Dizon, Chemical Safety Campaigner, EcoWaste Coalition.
The group obtained the skin whitening set from a specialty store in Quiapo that
sells food and health products imported from Indonesia and Malaysia.
“We actually brought this to the attention of the
government through the presentation we did at a mercury workshop conducted last
year by the Environmental Management Bureau where the FDA also took part,”
Dizon said.
Brunei’s MOH said “mercury is prohibited in
cosmetic products due to its hazardous effects on human health,” adding
"it is readily absorbed through the skin on topical application and tends
to accumulate in the body.”
“Exposure to mercury can cause skin rashes, memory loss and muscle weakness
while high exposures may result in damage to the brain and kidneys. It is also
extremely toxic to unborn children,” it further warned.
“Brunei is not the only country in Southeast Asia that has
disallowed the importation and sale Temulawak New Day & Night Beauty
Whitening Cream. As per news report, FDA Myanmar also banned this
product last year due to the presence of toxic mercury,” Dizon said.
“To prevent consumer exposure to mercury-added cosmetics, the EcoWaste
Coalition supports a vigorous multistakeholders' drive versus mercury-tainted
skin whitening products sourced from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and other countries,” he added.
"Of course, the simplest way to avoid being harmed by these products is
not to patronize them at all and for users to accept their natural skin
complexion," he said.
The EcoWaste Coalition further requested the government to hasten the
ratification of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, which among other things,
requires the phase-out of skin lightening products with mercury above 1 ppm.
-end-
http://annx.asianews.network/content/red-flag-raised-five-health-cosmetic-products-brunei-69011
http://www.elevenmyanmar.com/local/11178
http://www.elevenmyanmar.com/local/11178
Comments