Warning Out on Mercury-Laden Cream that Claims to “Make Skin Beautiful, White, Shining, and Healthy”

As the National Women's Month is celebrated, the toxics watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition announces its discovery of another skin lightening cream contaminated with mercury.

12 March 2026, Quezon City. The toxics watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition has detected mercury, a highly hazardous chemical banned in cosmetics, in a “made in Taiwan” facial cream that promises to make the user’s skin “beautiful, white, shining, and healthy.”

As part of its heightened campaign against dangerous skin lightening products during the National Women’s Month, the group searched online shopping sites for potential items to order and analyze for mercury, which can accumulate in the body, damage the skin, kidneys, and nervous systems, and pose reproductive risks, including birth defects and developmental damage to the fetus.

Sold for P266 per 20-gram jar, the Meiduzi Night Cream is labeled “made in Taiwan.” However, the packaging bears no manufacturer markings, a major red flag for adulterated or misbranded products.

Meiduzi Night Cream, as written on the product insert, “is designed for night time skin care, aiming to inhibit melanin precipitation (sic), brighten and lighten spots, anti-aging, anti-allergy, repair and tighten the skin’s beauty effect.”

Using a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) device, the group detected mercury at 1,375 parts per million (ppm).

As per XRF screening, Meiduzi Night Cream contains 1,375 parts per million (ppm) of mercury, which is globally banned in cosmetic products.

The label does not include mercury or other names associated with mercury. Nor does it mention the concentration of mercury in the said product.

The EcoWaste Coalition has already notified the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about this imminent threat to public health.

The Minamata Convention on Mercury, which entered into force on August 16, 2017, prohibits the manufacture, import, or export of mercury-added cosmetics such as creams and soaps for lightening the skin tone.

Mercury is known to have toxic effects on the skin and the digestive, immune, nervous, renal, and respiratory systems, and can also affect the development of unborn babies. Renal failure may occur in severe cases.

Signs and symptoms of mercury exposure include changes in hearing, vision or taste, difficulty concentrating, depression, insomnia, irritability, memory deterioration, shyness, tingling in feet, hands or around the mouth, and tremors.

Beyond monitoring mercury-laden skin lighteners and notifying the FDA and local government units of its findings, the EcoWaste Coalition also educates the public about the health risks and champions skin color acceptance, promoting inclusivity and the recognition that all natural skin tones are beautiful.

Reference:

https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-CED-PHE-EPE-19.13