By Chito Chavez
Environment advocate EcoWaste Coalition has warned the public against buying skin whitening products the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had banned in 2017 for containing mercury, a highly toxic chemical.
Goree and Collagen Plus Vit E’’ skin-whitening products (EcoWaste Coalition / MANILA BULLETIN)
“Consumers should heed the FDA’s public health advisories and not waste their money buying these poisonous skin whitening products. Repeated application of such cosmetics may result in chronic exposure to mercury and cause damage to the brain and the central nervous system, the kidneys and the skin itself,” said Thony Dizon, Ecowaste’s chemical safety campaigner.
“As mercury can cross the placental barrier, we strongly advise pregnant women not to use mercury-contaminated products to protect themselves and the babies in the womb against this toxic substance,” he said.
In its Advisory 2017-289, the agency banned Goree Beauty Cream and Goree Day & Night Beauty Cream from Pakistan for containing toxic mercury levels beyond the one part per million (ppm) maximum limit under the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive.
The FDA said adverse health effects from using highly toxic mercury in cosmetics products include kidney damage, skin rashes, skin discoloration, and scarring.
“The transfer of mercury to fetuses of pregnant women may manifest as neurodevelopment deficits later in life,” it further warned.
Ecowaste said the symptoms of mercury exposure include depression, drowsiness, exhaustion, hair loss, inflamed gums, irritability, memory loss, nervousness, rash, sleeplessness, tingling of the extremities, tremors, and weakness.
It also noted that Collagen Plus Vit E Day & Night Cream is among the 85 “unnotified’’ cosmetics cited in FDA Advisory 2017-314.
Chemical screening conducted by the group indicated high concentrations of mercury up to over 20,000 ppm in Goree products, while the mercury in samples of Collagen Plus Vit E had more than 10,000 ppm.
It urged the city government to prioritize the enactment of an ordinance banning and penalizing the manufacture, importation, distribution, and sale of mercury-containing cosmetics such as skin whitening creams and soaps.
The group also suggested that mall managements monitor and control products being sold by their tenants to ensure that adulterated, banned and counterfeit products are not offered for sale in their premises.
Goree and Collagen Plus Vit E’’ skin-whitening products (EcoWaste Coalition / MANILA BULLETIN)
“Consumers should heed the FDA’s public health advisories and not waste their money buying these poisonous skin whitening products. Repeated application of such cosmetics may result in chronic exposure to mercury and cause damage to the brain and the central nervous system, the kidneys and the skin itself,” said Thony Dizon, Ecowaste’s chemical safety campaigner.
“As mercury can cross the placental barrier, we strongly advise pregnant women not to use mercury-contaminated products to protect themselves and the babies in the womb against this toxic substance,” he said.
In its Advisory 2017-289, the agency banned Goree Beauty Cream and Goree Day & Night Beauty Cream from Pakistan for containing toxic mercury levels beyond the one part per million (ppm) maximum limit under the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive.
The FDA said adverse health effects from using highly toxic mercury in cosmetics products include kidney damage, skin rashes, skin discoloration, and scarring.
“The transfer of mercury to fetuses of pregnant women may manifest as neurodevelopment deficits later in life,” it further warned.
Ecowaste said the symptoms of mercury exposure include depression, drowsiness, exhaustion, hair loss, inflamed gums, irritability, memory loss, nervousness, rash, sleeplessness, tingling of the extremities, tremors, and weakness.
It also noted that Collagen Plus Vit E Day & Night Cream is among the 85 “unnotified’’ cosmetics cited in FDA Advisory 2017-314.
Chemical screening conducted by the group indicated high concentrations of mercury up to over 20,000 ppm in Goree products, while the mercury in samples of Collagen Plus Vit E had more than 10,000 ppm.
It urged the city government to prioritize the enactment of an ordinance banning and penalizing the manufacture, importation, distribution, and sale of mercury-containing cosmetics such as skin whitening creams and soaps.
The group also suggested that mall managements monitor and control products being sold by their tenants to ensure that adulterated, banned and counterfeit products are not offered for sale in their premises.