The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) found mercury far above the legal limit in skin-lightening creams from eight brands sold illegally in Bangladesh, the agency said Tuesday.
BSTI urged consumers and businesses to stop using, selling, distributing or storing the products. It said laboratory tests of creams collected from the market detected mercury at more than 100 times the permitted level in some samples.
Bangladesh standard BDS 1382 allows a maximum of 1.00 parts per million (ppm) of mercury in cosmetics, BSTI said in a news release Tuesday, Aug. 4.
The agency said sales of foreign skin-lightening creams had recently increased. Many enter Bangladesh through passenger luggage or smuggling rather than legal import channels, preventing their quality and safety from being checked, it said.
BSTI reported 120.39 ppm of mercury in Chandni Whitening Cream made by S.J. Enterprise of Pakistan. It found 123.37 ppm in Dew Beauty Cream from Creative Cosmetics, 82.76 ppm in Noor Whitening Cream from Noor Enterprise, 79.70 ppm in Navia Whitening Cream from Loya International and 59.82 ppm in Navia Beauty Cream.
Tests also found 44.72 ppm in New Face Beauty Cream made by Pakistan’s QCI Company, 56.93 ppm in Gouri Beauty Cream from Gouri Cosmetics Private Limited and 67.49 ppm in Natural Pearl Skin Cream from China’s GLDJB (Harbin) Cosmetics Company.
BSTI Director General and Secretary Kazi Imdadul Haque said public health could not be compromised and protecting consumers’ lives and health was the agency’s highest priority. He said strict legal action would be taken against those involved in producing, importing or marketing cosmetics containing harmful substances.
Haque said BSTI regularly collected samples, conducted laboratory analyses, monitored markets, carried out surveillance and operated mobile courts to help ensure product safety.
He urged consumers not to buy or use skin-lightening creams from unknown sources or without approval. Buyers should check BSTI approval and a product’s legal status before purchase and report suspicious products to the agency, he said.
Why mercury is dangerous
Experts cited in the report described mercury as a highly toxic heavy metal. Long-term use of skin creams containing mercury can damage the skin’s natural protective barrier and may cause abnormal thinning, permanent marks, allergic reactions and other skin conditions, they said.
Mercury can gradually accumulate in the body and may severely damage the kidneys, harm the nervous system, and affect memory and physical ability, according to the experts. Exposure during pregnancy can also threaten an unborn child’s physical and mental development, they said.
BSTI again warned people not to use the eight cream brands and urged them to avoid cosmetics imported illegally.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report