Groups Expose Illegal Sale of Mercury-Laced Cosmetics in Davao City
Davao City/Quezon City. Skin
whitening cosmetics containing dangerous levels of mercury, a potent
neurotoxin, are being sold in Davao City in brazen violation of the law.
The
Interface Development Interventions (IDIS) and the EcoWaste Coalition,
which are based in Davao and Quezon Cities, respectively, made the
discovery after obtaining 7 skin lightening products with mercury up to
6,633 parts per million (ppm), way above the 1 ppm limit under the ASEAN
Cosmetics Directive.
Ann
Fuertes, IDIS Executive Director, deplored the sale of mercury-tainted
cosmetics as “a direct affront to the right of consumers to
non-hazardous products,” stressing that “stopping such illegal trade
will help in reducing the amount of mercury that gets into our bodies
and the environment.”
“We
therefore urge the local government and police authorities to get to
the bottom of this wicked trade of poison cosmetics in the city and
bring violators to justice,” she said.
Fuertes added that the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) should
actively disseminate its recall advisories to inform and guide cosmetics
vendors and consumers, as well as help law enforcers in performing
their duties.
For her part, Aileen Lucero, EcoWaste Coalition National
Coordinator, prodded the public to be extra careful when buying
cosmetics promising fairer skin complexion and reject unauthorized and
insufficiently labeled ones, including those that do not truthfully
disclose their chemical ingredients.
She
pointed out that “brown is beautiful” and that the quickest way for
consumers to avoid mercury exposure in cosmetics is for them “to be
satisfied with their natural skin tone and not to use synthetic means to
whiten the skin.”
The
groups procured the 7 skin whitening cosmetics, costing P75 to P150 per
product, from several shops located at Chinatown and other places in
test buys conducted on July 28-29 in Davao City.
In addition, the groups also obtained a number of cheap skin
whitening products sold for P20 each that have no market authorization
from the FDA.
Using
a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer, a device that can
measure the concentrations of heavy metals in consumer products and
other media, the groups detected high levels of mercury in the following
products:
1) Erna Whitening Cream with 6,633 ppm
2) Jiaoli Miraculous Cream with 5,508 ppm
3) S’Zitang (golden yellow box) with 4,828 ppm
4) Jiao Li 7-days Specific Eliminating Preckle AB Set with 4,071 ppm
5) S’ Zitang 7-days Specific Eliminating Freckle AB Set with 3,409 ppm,
6) White Magnolia Powerful Spot Remover Repair Essence with 3,406 ppm,
7) Jiao Li Speckle-Dispelling & Whitening Cream with 3,042 ppm
2) Jiaoli Miraculous Cream with 5,508 ppm
3) S’Zitang (golden yellow box) with 4,828 ppm
4) Jiao Li 7-days Specific Eliminating Preckle AB Set with 4,071 ppm
5) S’ Zitang 7-days Specific Eliminating Freckle AB Set with 3,409 ppm,
6) White Magnolia Powerful Spot Remover Repair Essence with 3,406 ppm,
7) Jiao Li Speckle-Dispelling & Whitening Cream with 3,042 ppm
The
FDA has yet to ban Erna and White Magnolia, while Jiaoli and S’Zitang
are among the 93 skin whitening products banned by the agency for
containing mercury above the allowable limit.
According
to the FDA, “there have been cases of adverse health effects brought
about by highly toxic mercury in cosmetic products, such as kidney
damage, skin rashes, skin discoloration and scarring. Chronic use
reduces the skin's normal resistance against bacterial and fungal
infections.”
“The transfer of mercury to fetuses of pregnant women may manifest as neurodevelopment deficits later in life,” the FDA warned
The
manufacture, importation, selling or offering for sale of cosmetics
without FDA approval or found to contain harmful or toxic substances is
in direct violation of Republic Act No. 9711 , the Food and Drug
Administration Act, and Republic Act No. 7394, the Consumer Act of the Philippines.
-end-
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