London Trading Standards has fined fifteen businesses for selling unsafe beauty products, including Pakistani skin whitening creams, according to the BBC.
Some of the products contained enough harmful chemicals to cause organ damage, officials said. The products said to be harmful include Pakistani skin products such as Faiza Beauty Cream, Golden Pearl, Stillman’s, Maxi Light and Face Fresh.
The businesses were fined £168,579 for selling unsafe cosmetics.
Officials said the prolonged use of these products could cause cancer, skin discolouration and skin thinning. These products contain hazardous and prohibited levels of hydroquinone, mercury or corticosteroids. Faiza Beauty Cream reportedly contains 0.54 per cent of toxic mercury.
London Trading Standards said officers found and seized “hundreds of thousands” of the products in a coordinated campaign.
Further, the Trading Standards said at least 15 online sellers offering prohibited skin lightening products have been identified using eBay. Efforts are being made to locate them, said the officials.
Officers in Waltham Forest recently seized more than 3,000 products from one such seller. Company bosses, who sell banned cosmetic products can be sent to prison and fined up to £20,000 per offence.
Courtesy: BBC