FDA Bans Another Imported Skin Lightening Product with Mercury Content
13 August 2024, Quezon City. The toxics watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition lauded the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its latest health advisory against a skin lightening product with undisclosed mercury content.
Through Advisory No. 2024-1095, the FDA urged the public not to purchase and use Hua Shu Li Miracle Whitening & Anti-Freckle Set (the product's complete name), which has no valid Certificate of Product Notification, warning "the use of such a violative product may pose health risks to consumers."
“We commend the FDA for its latest action to protect human health and the environment against non-compliant cosmetics such as those contaminated with mercury, a highly toxic chemical with no known safe level of exposure,” said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition. “Consumers should listen to the FDA and reject unauthorized products with no quality and safety assurance,” she said, noting “pregnant women and children are most vulnerable to the negative effects of mercury exposure.”
Sold by an online seller for P132 per set, Hua Shu Li Miracle Whitening & Anti-Freckle Set contains mercury at levels exceeding the one part per million (ppm) limit under the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive, the EcoWaste Coalition said.
According to the group, the Hua Shu Li product it purchased online and screened for mercury using an X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer contained 1,836 ppm (day cream) and 2,132 ppm (night cream) of mercury.
The China-made product will expire on November 28, 2026, indicating that it was manufactured after the 2020 global phase-out deadline for mercury-added cosmetics such as skin lightening products as per the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
After detecting mercury on the said product that promises “unparalleled white face,” the group immediately notified the FDA and requested the regulatory agency to issue an advisory to forewarn consumers, especially those who seek to lighten their skin complexion.
The requested advisory was issued on August 7 and posted on the FDA website on August 12.
In the e-mail that it sent to the EcoWaste Coalition on August 12, the FDA reiterated the need for consumers to be vigilant against cosmetic products that are not duly notified with the agency.
"The public is also advised to always check if a cosmetic product is notified with the FDA by using the FDA Verification Portal feature accessible at https://verification.fda.
According to its multi-language labeling information, the Hua Shu Li product is based on “ancient traditional medical cosmetic formula with herbal extracts.” The day cream contains “potent anti-spot, whitening and skin beneficial (substances)” that can “inhibit melanin cells, balance moist in skin and quickly recover skin elasticity.” It further claims that using the night cream for a week will “whiten and purify facial skin” and “leave your skin tender, smooth and shining.”
Like other mercury-added products, Hua Shu Li made no mention about its mercury content and the damage that it can cause to the kidneys, the nervous system, and to the skin itself, noting that exposure to mercury can result in skin irritation, scarring and uneven skin color, as well as weaken the skin’s natural resistance to bacterial and fungal infections.
Unknown to many, the use of skin lightening products with mercury can also contaminate the environment and contribute to global mercury pollution, which the governments and other sectors are working to control, if not eliminate, through the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
To protect both the health of humans and the ecosystems, the EcoWaste Coalition urged all Filipinos to embrace the color they are born with and resist societal pressure to have a fairer skin tone, stressing “natural is beautiful.”
The group further requested the FDA to take further action to terminate the illegal trade of mercury cosmetics in physical stores, and in e-commerce sites, which continues to persist.
Reference:
https://www.fda.gov.ph/fda-
https://www.unep.org/
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