CEBU CITY - Dangerous skin lightening products with mercury content are easily obtainable in Cebu despite the global phase-out of such cosmetics as stipulated in the Minamata Convention on Mercury, a global agreement that seeks to protect human health and the environment from mercury emissions and releases.
The EcoWaste Coalition made this observation after purchasing seven banned mercury-containing facial creams for P80 to P300 each from cosmetic vendors in Cebu, Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue Cities recently.
“We have gathered fresh evidence showing the unchecked trade in Cebu of unauthorized cosmetics contaminated with high levels of mercury, an extremely toxic chemical forbidden in cosmetic product formulations, in violation of national and international laws,” said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition.
“We will duly notify our health product regulators and the concerned local
government units (LGUs) about this brazen threat to human health and the
environment. The LGUs, in particular, should go after the errant peddlers of
these poison cosmetics and their suppliers. City ordinances banning
mercury-added cosmetics and public information drives promoting acceptance of
our natural skin color should be pursued to fight colorism and mercury exposure
via chemical skin whiteners,” she added.
Among the banned items purchased were Pakistan-made Goree Beauty Cream with
Lycopene and Goree Day & Night Beauty Cream, Thailand-made 88 Total White
Underarm Cream, and China-made S’Zitang 10-Day Eliminating Freckle Day &
Night Set.
At 138 Wholesale Mall in Colon Street, at least seven stores defiantly
sell the proscribed items, particularly Goree, in clear disregard of product
safety regulations, the group observed. Stores selling these banned items were
also spotted in Manalili, P. Lopez and Progreso Streets.
The collected items were then brought to the
EcoWaste Coalition’s office in Quezon City for mercury screening using a
portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer, a device that can identify and
quantity chemicals in a sample without sample preparation or destruction.
All the seven products badly failed the XRF mercury screening test. The
four Goree samples were found contaminated with extremely high levels of
mercury ranging from 27,130 to 29,550 ppm. The two samples of 88 Total
White had 2,147 and 2,952 ppm. And the lone sample of S’Zitang contained
1,109 ppm (day cream) and 109 ppm (night cream).
Aside from being banned by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2017 for
lacking market authorization and for containing mercury, Goree has also been
tested and subsequently banned in Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Hong
Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, United Kingdom and the USA.
New Zealand, which banned the two variants of Goree in 2021, warned: “These
products contain mercury, which is dangerous to your health, and on the lungs,
kidneys, skin and eyes. It can also affect the development of unborn
babies.”
FDA Advisory Nos. 2018-183 and 2015-025 cautioned the public against
the purchase and use of S’Zitang, which the agency tested and found to contain
toxic mercury levels above 1 ppm.
In 2021, the FDA issued a public health warning on 88 Total White Underarm
Cream through Advisory No. 2021-1187, saying it has no valid Certificate of
Product Notification (CPN) and the use of which “may pose health risks to
consumers.” It is also banned in the USA, particularly in the state of
Minnesota, for containing mercury. (Cebu Examiner)
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