EcoWaste Coalition Welcomes FDA’s Action vs. Indonesia-Banned Skin Whitener Sold Online
27 September 2024, Quezon City. The toxics watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition welcomed the advisory issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banning Dr. Gold Super Quality +SPF30, an unauthorized product from Indonesia that promises to “make the facial skin radiantly white.”
The FDA through Advisory No. 2024-1334 issued last September 17 and which was posted yesterday on the agency’s website notified the public that the said unauthorized product has not been assessed for its quality and safety, warning “the use of such a violative product may pose health risks to consumers.”
“We thank the FDA for its action to prohibit this unauthorized product from duping consumers with its exaggerated claim to make the skin ‘radiantly white’ and ‘as beautiful as a pearl glow’ despite being contaminated with mercury,” said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition.
As indicated on its packaging, Dr. Gold claims that it can “remove acne, remove black spots, smoothen and make the facial skin radiantly white.”
To recall, the EcoWaste Coalition last July 4 purchased Dr. Gold and four other skin lightening products from Indonesia and had them screened for mercury using an X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer.
Based on the XRF screening conducted, Dr. Gold is contaminated with 213 parts per million (ppm) of mercury, which is above the one ppm allowable limit under the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive for mercury as a heavy metal contaminant in cosmetics.
In the group’s letter to the FDA last July 10, the EcoWaste Coalition requested the FDA to issue a public health warning against the purchase and use of Dr. Gold and other similar products banned by BPOM (the Indonesian Food and Drug Control Agency), which are being offered for sale in online and physical stores.
The group further urged the FDA to seek the support of BPOM in halting the export of adulterated Indonesian cosmetics to the Philippines, and also to demand from Shopee Philippines to take down product listings for BPOM-banned products.
As reported in July 2023 by Kompas TV, Dr. Gold Super Quality +SPF30 is among the 13 illegal mercury-containing cosmetic products found by BPOM that are still circulating in commerce. Dr. Gold is also included in the list of 181 cosmetics released by BPOM in December 2023 for containing mercury and other prohibited substances based on the national market surveillance conducted from September 2022 to October 2023.
“We laud the FDA for joining BPOM in warning consumers against the purchase and use of Dr. Gold Super Quality +SPF30 to safeguard our people against mercury exposure, which can cause serious side effects and also put the health of the other members of their household at risk,” said Lucero. “We encourage regulatory agencies across the region to work together to break the demand and supply chain for mercury cosmetics to protect public health and the environment.”
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), adverse health effects of the inorganic mercury contained in skin lightening creams and soaps include: kidney damage, skin rashes, skin discoloration and scarring, reduction in the skin's resistance to bacterial and fungal infections, anxiety, depression, psychosis, and peripheral neuropathy."
To avoid mercury exposure, the group renewed its appeal to everyone to accept our natural skin color and reject chemical whiteners such as those laden with mercury and other hazardous substances, stressing "beauty has no skin tone and that all colors are beautiful."
References:
https://www.fda.gov.ph/wp-
https://www.kompas.tv/
https://www.kompas.tv/
https://iris.who.int/
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