Consumers in Cebu told to avoid buying banned beauty products from China
Environment watchdog EcoWaste Coalition has reported that several banned cosmetic products from China remain rampant in Colon Street, Cebu. | Photo courtesy of EcoWaste Coalition
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Consumers here are urged to be wary of buying cosmetic products.
Environment watchdog EcoWaste Coalition reported that banned beauty creams remain rampant in Cebu City.
The group, in a statement sent to members of the media, said they found out that banned skin-whitening creams manufactured in China were still being sold to unsuspecting consumers in downtown Colon Street. In particular, several products under the brands Jiaoli and S’Zitang.
EcoWaste Coalition said they discovered on May 14 that several stores in a mall along Colon Street were selling the prohibited variants of Jiaoli and S’Zitang.
The samples they collected, which included Jiaoli 7-Day Specific Eliminating Freckle AB Set, Jiaoli Miraculous Cream, S’Zitang 7 Day Specific Eliminating Freckle AB Set, and S’Zitang 10-day Eliminating Freckle Day & Night Set, contained excessive amount of mercury.
“As per XRF (Olympus Vanta M Series X-Ray Fluorescence) screening, the products contain mercury ranging from 762 to 1,408 ppm, exceeding the 1 ppm limit,” the group stated.
Aileen Lucero, national coordinator of EcoWaste Coalition, urged both the local and national government agencies concerned to take action on the continued selling and distribution of prohibited beauty products in Cebu City.
“The continued sale of Jiaoli and S’Zitang products in Cebu and other parts of the country goes against national and global laws banning highly toxic mercury in cosmetics,” Lucero said.
“The importation, distribution, and sale of these products from China have long been prohibited to protect consumers and even non-consumers such as babies in the womb from the health-damaging effects of mercury, a highly toxic chemical banned in cosmetic product formulations,” she added.
In 2010, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned two variants of Jiaoli creams due to high levels of the toxic chemical.
Exposure and contact with excessive amounts of mercury through cosmetic products can lead to kidney damage, skin rashes, skin discoloration, scarring, and neurodevelopmental deficits for fetuses or babies, according to the FDA.
“To avoid mercury exposure, the EcoWaste Coalition encouraged consumers in Cebu and elsewhere to embrace their natural skin tone and shun chemical whiteners, stressing ‘natural nga kolor kay gwapa’,” EcoWaste Coalition added.
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