FDA Urged to Shut Down Overt Trade of Mercury Cosmetics in Pasay City
21 July 2024, Quezon City. The toxics watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition appealed to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to urgently deploy teams of health product inspectors to Pasay City after reconfirming the nonstop sale of banned cosmetics with mercury in the area.
The group specifically urged the FDA Regulatory Enforcement Unit and Regional Field Office for the National Capital Region to undertake speedy action, together with the Pasay City Government, to halt the illegal trade, uphold the ban on mercury cosmetics, and protect public health and the environment.
Last Friday, July 19, the group spotted FDA-banned skin lightening products being offered for sale at several stores operating inside popular budget malls in Pasay City, particularly at Baclaran Terminal Plaza Mall, Two Shopping Center, and Wellcome Plaza Mall. The use of these products can expose users and even non-users to mercury, a potent neurotoxin that is forbidden in the composition of cosmetic products such as skin lighteners.
As observed by the EcoWaste Coalition, these stores continue to defy the FDA-issued public health warnings and openly display and sell one or more of the following banned mercury-added cosmetics: Golden Pearl Beauty Cream, Goree Beauty Cream with Lycopene, Goree Day & Night Beauty Cream and Goree Gold 24K Beauty Cream from Pakistan; 88 Total White Underarm Cream from Thailand; Collagen Plus Vit E Day & Night Cream from Indonesia; and Jiaoli Miraculous Cream from China.
“We appeal to the concerned FDA offices to take immediate action in close coordination with the local government and police authorities to shut down the unlawful display, promotion, and sale of cosmetics adulterated with mercury in Pasay City, which poses a serious threat to human health and the environment, too,” said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition. “Please deploy your inspectors and enforce the law.”
The coordinated action of local and national government agencies, the group said, is needed to stop the trade of smuggled cosmetics in Pasay City and other places where these dangerous products can be easily obtained, including in online shopping platforms.
Resolute enforcement action must be complemented with a parallel advocacy challenging the racist white-centric beauty standards, and encouraging each Filipino to embrace the skin tone we are born with and to celebrate beauty and equity of all skin colors, the group added.
The use of mercury in cosmetics such as skin lightening products is banned regionally through the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive and internationally through the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mercury use in skin lightening products can lead to adverse health effects, including skin rashes, discoloration, and scarring, and reduced dermal resistance to bacterial and mycotic skin disorders. WHO has also warned that repeated applications of such products onto the skin can cause damage to the kidneys, the brain, and the central nervous system.
Mercury belongs to the WHO’s list of 10 chemicals or groups of chemicals of major public health concern. (PR)
Reference:
https://www.who.int/publications-detail-redirect/WHO-CED-PHE-EPE-19.13
