Warning Out on More Pakistan-Made Skin Whiteners with High Mercury Content
(Unauthorized facial creams promise “gold radiance”)
4 December 2024, Quezon City. The toxics watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition cautioned consumers aspiring for a lighter and flawless skin not to be lured into using two unauthorized facial creams smuggled from Pakistan and verified to contain high concentrations of mercury, a highly hazardous chemical banned in cosmetic products.
As per chemical screening conducted by the group on the two items it purchased yesterday for P180 each from a dealer based in Pasay City, both the Aima Gold Beauty Cream and Zoya Gold Beauty Cream are contaminated with dangerously high levels of mercury.
Using an X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer, Aima and Zoya were found to contain 22,160 and 21,350 parts per million (ppm) of mercury, way above the 1 ppm limit for mercury as a heavy metal contaminant under the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive.
The products lacked proper market authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and would be illegal to distribute and sell.
As stamped on their containers, both products were manufactured in May 2024, way past the original 2020 global phase-out deadline for cosmetics such as skin lightening products with mercury exceeding 1 ppm under the the Minamata Convention on Mercury. The products will expire in May 2028.
Aima entices consumers to use it with a promise of light and even skin tone and removal of freckles, pimples and wrinkles. Zoya, on the other hand, claims “measurably reduced darkening marks, uneven skin tone plus visible fairness with regular continued usage.”
Both products provide a long list of organic and synthetic ingredients, but excluding mercury and its compounds. Zoya even claims that it “contains no harmful ingredients” despite being contaminated with mercury.
The EcoWaste Coalition previously reported the illegal sale of Aima and Zoya and three other Pakistan-made mercury-added products to the FDA on April 22, 2024. The other three products reported were Armena Gold Beauty Cream, Pure Pearl Beauty Cream, and Zartaaj Beauty Cream.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mercury in skin lightening products can cause skin rashes, scarring and discoloration; reduced skin’s resistance to bacterial and fungal infections; nervous, renal, and immune system damage; and anxiety, depression and psychosis.
The application of mercury-containing skin lightening products, as pointed out by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), can further contaminate the surrounding environment and contribute to global mercury pollution.
Last August 2024, the EcoWaste Coalition wrote to the FDA to propose a solution-focused multi-stakeholder summit to tackle and solve the persistent trade of dangerous cosmetics with mercury in the country.
The group also urged the government to advocate for “natural is beautiful” to instill people’s acceptance of our inherent skin tone, inculcate respect for diversity, and promote appreciation that every skin color is beautiful. (PR)
Reference:
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-CED-PHE-EPE-19.13
https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/why-mercury-still-threat-human-and-planetary-health
