Warning Out on Wet Wipes with Harmful Ingredients
(EcoWaste Coalition finds more baby wipes with preservatives that can cause skin irritation)
10 July 2024, Quezon City. The EcoWaste Coalition cautioned consumers from buying unauthorized baby wipes containing forbidden preservatives that can irritate the sensitive skin of infants and toddlers.
The watchdog group, which has been alerting both consumers and regulators on products laden with harmful chemicals, urged consumers not to spend on baby wipes listing methylisothiazolinone and methylchloroisothiazolinone as ingredients.
Specifically, the EcoWaste Coalition advised consumers not to buy and use Baby Tender “Mama” Baby Wipes and Baby Tender “Sun Tad” Baby Wipes, which are illegally sold without valid certificates of product notification issued by the FDA.
Based on the group’s latest market monitoring, Baby Tender “Mama” Baby Wipes and Baby Tender “Sun Tad” Baby Wipes are offered for sale at the Novo Department Store in Caloocan City and Youka Store in Naga City (Cebu Province). Both products are available in blue, pink, orange, and yellow packaging.
The products provided no information about their manufacturers and/or distributors.
Health authorities in many countries banned these preservatives in leave-on products as these substances can trigger allergic contact dermatitis in sensitive people.
In the Philippines, following the decision made at the 25th ASEAN Cosmetic Committee Meeting, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2017 announced the ban on the said preservatives in leave-on cosmetic products. The ban took effect in August 2018 after a year-long grace period.
As the FDA pointed out, the ban on these preservatives for leave-on cosmetic products was agreed after “no safe concentrations of methylisothiazolinone for induction of contact allergy or elicitation have been adequately demonstrated.”
Aside from wet wipes, these preservatives are not permitted in hand and body lotion, hand sanitizers, sunscreens, deodorants, hair styling gel, pomade, spray and wax, various make-up products such as foundation, concealers, eyeliners, eye shadows and mascara, and other leave-on products.
The EcoWaste Coalition likewise reminded the public to properly dispose of used wipes, noting that soiled wipes can block the drains and contribute to microplastic fiber pollution in the marine environment. (PR)
Reference:
https://www.fda.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/FDA-Circular-No.-2017-006.pdf
