On July 17, toxics watchdog BAN Toxics called out online shopping platforms after discovering they were selling skin-lightening products laced with mercury.
According to the group, its online monitoring activity showed student volunteers’ documentation of 300 e-retailers selling the tainted products that have been issued advisories by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“Despite claims in the product descriptions that these products are ‘FDA-approved,’ the FDA has issued public health advisories against the following products, namely: 88 Total White Underarm Cream (FDA Advisory No. 2021-1187), Goree Beauty Cream with Lycopene, Avocado and Aloe Vera (FDA Advisory No. 2017-289), Goree Day and Night Cream (FDA Advisory No. 2017-289), Goree Gold 24K Beauty Cream (FDA Advisory No. 2023-2392), Goree Beauty Product Set (4-in-1; FDA Advisory No. 2025-1356), and Parley Goldie Advanced Beauty Cream (FDA Advisory No. 2021-3043),” BAN Toxics said in a statement.
The World Health Organization said that mercury is “highly toxic to human health, posing a particular threat to fetal development and children in early life. Mercury exists in elemental, inorganic, and organic forms, all of which can damage the nervous, digestive, and immune systems, as well as the lungs, kidneys, skin, and eyes”.
“The undisclosed presence of toxic mercury in skin-lightening cosmetic products being sold online violates the Minamata Convention on Mercury and existing laws in the country,” BAN Toxics Advocacy and Campaign Officer Thony Dizon said.
“Eliminating mercury-added cosmetic products from the market requires stricter monitoring and enforcement by regulators. This includes stronger border controls by the Bureau of Customs, regular post-market surveillance and public health advisories by the Food and Drug Administration, and stricter e-commerce compliance, product standards, and consumer protection enforcement by the Department of Trade and Industry,” Dizon added.
The group urged the shopping platforms to “remove FDA-banned skin-lightening products and related social media posts in accordance with Republic Act No. 11967, or the Internet Transactions Act of 2023, to protect consumers from harmful exposure to toxic mercury.”
It urged the public not to purchase FDA-banned cosmetics and verify that these products have a valid FDA notification before buying them.
