17 July 2023, Quezon City. The toxics watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition is urging Filipino women aspiring for a fairer skin tone to desist from using a facial cream that has been the subject of two advisories issued by the health authorities.
“Our persistent monitoring of mercury-containing skin lightening products shows that smuggled Golden Pearl Beauty Cream are being offered for sale, especially in online shopping sites, despite the health warnings,” said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition.
Pakistan-made Golden Pearl Beauty Cream, the group pointed out, was banned twice by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA): first in 2014 and again in 2021.
To recall, FDA Advisory No. 2013-053-A as amended in 2014 banned Golden Pearl Beauty Cream (old packaging) for containing mercury above the permissible limit of one part per million (ppm) set by the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive. While FDA Advisory 2021-3060 banned the distribution and sale of Golden Pearl Beauty Cream (new packaging) for lacking proper authorization from the agency.
Both advisories were prompted by the product monitoring reports submitted by the EcoWaste Coalition to the FDA, which has been encouraging the public to report any distribution and sale of violative products, as well as any complaint and adverse event resulting from the use of such products.
Golden Pearl Beauty Cream, as written in the product insert, “is the only cream that clears pimples, wrinkles, marks, hives (and) even shadows under the eyes and turns your skin white.” It further claims that using it makes you look so “gorgeous that you won’t believe.”
Like other mercury-added cosmetics, the label provides no information about the product’s mercury content and the health effects of mercury exposure.
“To avoid exposure to mercury and other hazardous substances, we urge our women and others to steer clear of chemical whiteners and to accept whatever our skin tone is,” said Lucero. “All colors are beautiful, and should be respected and not discriminated upon.”
The World Health Organization (WHO), which considers mercury as one of the “10 chemicals of major public health concern,” has identified “kidney damage, skin rashes, skin discoloration and scarring, reduction in the skin’s resistance to bacterial and fungal infections, anxiety, depression, psychosis and peripheral neuropathy” among the “adverse health effects of the inorganic mercury contained in skin lightening creams and soaps.”
“Women, who are the main target market of cosmetics that claim to lighten the skin, fight ageing and treat acne, pimples and other dermal problems, are highly vulnerable to the toxic effects of mercury exposure, especially if they are of child bearing age,” warned the EcoWaste Coalition.
Cases of mercury intoxication due to the use of mercury-adulterated cosmetics have been documented such as the case of a woman in California who fell into coma in 2019, and, most recently, a woman in Minnesota who was reported in 2022 for suffering from partial vision loss due to prolonged use of skin lightening products with mercury content, the group pointed out.
The EcoWaste Coalition is campaigning for the strict enforcement of the ban on mercury in cosmetic products such as skin whiteners consistent with the requirements of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, ASEAN Cosmetic Directive and the country’s national laws such as the Food and Drug Administration Act and the Consumer Act of the Philippines.
References:
https://www.fda.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/FDA-Advisory-No.-2013-053-A.pdf
