(EcoWaste Coalition lauds FDA’s latest move to protect consumers from mercury exposure risks)
QUEZON CITY (September 29) – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the Philippines recently issued a series of public health warnings against six unauthorized facial creams for lightening the skin tone from Indonesia that the EcoWaste Coalition previously analyzed for mercury, a highly toxic chemical forbidden in such cosmetics.
Last September 24, the FDA published on its website Advisory Numbers 2025-0812 to 2025 -0817 warning the public against the purchase and use of the following products lacking valid certificates of product notification: Meyung Cream Day & Night (white and yellow); UV Special Ginseng SP Whitening Anti-Acne; Asli Herbal SP Mint Day Night; Skinlight Whitening Cream; L-Sky Glow; and 99 Whitening Cream Racikan & Vitamin E Asli.
According to the advisories, the said products have not undergone quality and safety assessment and may contain prohibited ingredients such as heavy metals. Using them, the FDA warned, may pose health risks to consumers resulting in adverse reactions not limited to skin irritation, itchiness, anaphylactic shock, and organ failure.
“We laud the FDA for acting on the results of our market investigation. The issuance of health advisories provides vendors and consumers with guidance on which products pose health risks and must not be offered for sale and consumed,” said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition. “To stop the persistent entry of banned mercury-laden cosmetics into our ports, we urge the authorities to forge bilateral and multilateral cooperation with other governments and permanently shut down the smuggling of these hazardous cosmetics.”
As reported by the EcoWaste Coalition to the FDA last June 16, the said products, which the group bought from an online seller, screened positive for mercury that is prohibited under the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive and the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
Using a handheld X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) device, the group found mercury at levels exceeding the 15 milligram per kilogram (equivalent to parts per million or ppm), the threshold for wastes contaminated with mercury under the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
As per XRF screening results, Asli Herbal SP Mint Day Night contained 2,222 ppm of mercury; Skinlight Whitening Cream had 2,168 ppm; UV Special Ginseng SP Whitening Anti-Acne 1,804 ppm; 99 Whitening Cream Racikan & Vitamin E Asli 889 ppm; Meyung Cream Day & Night 600 ppm (white) and 384 ppm (yellow); and L-Sky Glow with 564 ppm of mercury.
The FDA in 2024 also flagged four other skin lightening products from Indonesia that were analyzed by the EcoWaste Coalition as containing mercury, namely: Dr. Gold Super Quality +SPF30; Fair & Lovely Day & Night Cream; La Bella Day Cream; and La Bella Night Cream.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), “skin lightening products often contain various harmful chemicals like steroids, hydroquinone, and mercury, which pose serious health risks,” noting that “mercury exposure can cause skin rashes, scarring, and long-term damage to the nervous system and kidneys.”
“Pregnant women and children are especially vulnerable,” emphasized UNEP.“The dangers extend beyond direct users – family members can also be exposed through contact with contaminated towels, skin, or even inhaling mercury vapors. Furthermore, when these products wash down drains, they contaminate water supplies affecting entire communities,” it added.
The EcoWaste Coalition pledged to continue its market investigation and advocacy efforts to protect the people’s health from preventable sources of mercury pollution, and uphold the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
