Health Scare in Asia Over P&G Skin Lotions

2006-09-21 | 09:34

Top retailers in China and South Korea have cleared luxury skincare and whitening creams made by Procter & Gamble from their shelves as authorities check for potentially harmful chemicals. A consumer scare over the upmarket SK-II lotions began in China earlier this week after the country's quarantine agency said it had found some products contained traces of metallic chemicals chromium and neodymium. A chemical pathology expert said frequent use of contaminated cosmetics over a long period could cause skin irritation and, very rarely, skin cancer. P&G said the products, which the global consumer goods giant manufacture at a factory in Japan, did not pose any health risks. P&G said chromium and neodymium were not used as ingredients in SK-II lines but it was investigating whether they might have found their way into the products during the manufacturing process. “Even in the unlikely event that these chemicals have entered our products, the reported amounts found by China's authorities is less than one-hundredth in the case of chromium and one-thousandth in the case of neodymium than what WHO (World Health Organization) guidelines say is safe to eat per day,” said Noriyuki Endo, a P&G spokesman in Tokyo. SK-II, which has been on the market since 1980, is one of P&G's premium skincare lines, with a 200 ml bottle selling for around $130 and was developed by P&G's Max Factor unit. The company has started offering refunds in China, which is its second-largest market by sales volume. Charles Zhang, senior external relations manager with P&G in Guangzhou, said it was too early to estimate the cost of the refunds but conceded the “adverse impact is quite serious. There's a lot of uncertainty and confusion, without doubt, among consumers,” he added. The Chinese and South Korean stores have suspended sales of eight products, including whitening agents, facial creams and sunblocks, from the SK-II cosmetics line. In South Korea, Asia's third-largest cosmetics market, the Food and Drug Administration is investigating the products. Japan's Health Ministry said they are checking with China to verify what was found in the products and by what methods. Authorities in Indonesia and Singapore also said that based on the information available to date, the products were safe. Experts in Hong Kong said the amounts of chromium and neodymium which Chinese authorities said they found in the products was very small. The two are classified as toxic metals.