Beware of these lipstick brands that may contain lead – FDA

Health authorities on Saturday warned consumers against buying lipstick brands not registered with the Food and Drug Administration, saying these products may contain dangerous substances, such as lead.

 

In an advisory on its website, the FDA said heavy metals may be in pigments or colorants and in some raw materials that are used in producing lipsticks, due to natural contamination from the environment.

 

"There are unnotified products from China or imitations of the original products being sold by sidewalk and ambulant vendors or outlets in the country," it said. 

 

It listed some lipsticks from China that it said have no market authorization from the FDA.

The flagged lipstick brands include:

 

- Baolishi No. 8

- Baolishi No. 20 (green)

- Baolishi No. 20 (yellow)

- Baolishi No. 25

- Baolishi No. 37

- Miss Beauty No. 6

- Miss Beauty Vitamin C No. 11

- Shijing No. 39

- Ling Mei No. 12

- Heng Fang No. 8

- Popa Italy 3 in 1

- L’Oreal No. 209

- Luoys Paris No. 05

 

The FDA also asked local government units and law enforcers to help ensure that the unnotified products being sold in their localities are confiscated and impounded. It also requested the Bureau of Customs "to remain vigilant in ensuring that these products are not released in the market without proper authorization from the FDA."

 

Also, it asked the public to report unnotified cosmetic products in the market, via report@fda.gov.ph. Those who need more information may also send an email to info@fda.gov.ph.

 

Good manufacturing

 

Meanwhile, the FDA reminded manufacturers to abide by the requirements of current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) for cosmetic products. It said this aims to ensure that possible contaminants are within the allowable limits set by the FDA, consistent with the ASEAN Directives.

 

"Studies have shown that manufacturers following strict cGMP in producing lipsticks have lead and other heavy metals way below the maximum allowable or acceptable limit," it said.

 

The FDA said lead is a proven toxicant that may cause health problems through chronic ingestion. It said exposure to lead may lead to neurologic, hematologic, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and renal problems. For adults, it said lead toxicant has been linked with high blood pressure, joint pain, poor memory, and concentration problems.

 

"Children are particularly at risk from neurotoxic effects of lead, which affect their brain development and cognition, like test scores, memory and learning, and fine motor skills and behavior. Lead easily crosses the placenta, and pregnant women should pay particular attention to the different sources of lead exposure," it added.

 

So far, the FDA said it has authorized more than 100 brands of lipstick with several color variants per brand for the consumers to choose from.

 

"All consumers are advised to buy only FDA-notified cosmetic products in the market," it said.

 

Checking your products

 

The FDA said consumers who want to check if a cosmetic product is authorized to be in the market may go to the FDA website and type in the name of the product on the “Search” bar.

 

Consumers may also read the product labels, packages and leaflets.

 

Notified or “safe” cosmetic products have the following fields written in English:

 

- Product name

- Ingredients

- Net Content

- Instruction on the use of the products

- Batch number

- Special precautions if any

- Country of manufacture/importer. – KDM, GMA News