Group Urges Online Shopping Sites to Remove Ads for Mercury-Tainted Skin Whitening Cosmetics from Pakistan Banned by the FDA
Banned Feique and Goree cosmetics on sale in Quiapo.
A
non-profit group promoting public health and safety appealed to e-shopping websites to delete posts
by third party sellers advertising banned skin lightening products from
Pakistan that are laden with toxic mercury.
Through a press statement, the EcoWaste Coalition urged Lazada and OLX to
immediately delist the numerous advertisements for “Goree Beauty Cream with
Lycopene with SPF 30 Avocado & Aloe Vera” and “Goree Day & Night
Whitening Cream” for the protection of their valued customers.
Last October 30, 2017, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued Advisory No. 2017-289 warning the public against the purchase and use of the above Goree cosmetics after finding mercury, a harmful chemical that is not allowed in cosmetic product formulations, above the maximum trace amount of one part per million (ppm).
“(These) products have not gone through the verification process of the agency
and have not been issued the proper authorization in the form of acknowledged
cosmetic notifications,” the advisory said.
“We request the management of Lazada, OLX and other online shopping platforms not to allow their sites to be used
for the unlawful sale of consumer products such as cosmetics that have not
passed the quality and safety verification by the authorities,” said Thony
Dizon, Chemical Safety Campaigner, EcoWaste Coalition.
“The ban on the sale of products containing health and environmentally-damaging
chemicals such as mercury also applies to the online marketplace and should be strictly
followed,” he pointed out.
Test buys carried out by the EcoWaste Coalition last month found the banned
Goree products being sold by retailers
of cosmetics and Chinese drugs in Divisoria and Quiapo, Manila in blatant
defiance of the FDA’s order “not to distribute the violative cosmetic products “
Chemical screening conducted by the group using a portable X-Ray Fluorescence
(XRF) device detected 25,300 ppm of mercury in Goree Beauty Cream and 21,800
ppm of mercury in the Goree Whitening Cream, way above the maximum allowable
limit of 1 ppm.
According to the FDA advisory, “adverse health
effects brought about by highly toxic mercury in cosmetics products include
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.
“We expect both Lazada and OLX to take swift action in response to our
urgent request like what they did in 2015,” he added.
The EcoWaste Coalition recalled Lazada and OLX in 2015, upon the request of the
group, speedily removed ads of mercury-containing skin whitening cosmetics, as
well as fat-burning slimming products with sibutramine and other restricted
ingredients.
-end-
Links to Lazada and OLX ads selling the banned Goree products:
Link to FDA Advisory No. 2017-289:
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