Food and Drug Administration bans 5 whitening cream brands

MANILA, Philippines - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a circular banning five whitening cream products from Taiwan and Japan for containing mercury.

FDA director Nazarita Tacandong said St. Dalfour Beauty Whitening Cream from Japan and Beauty Girl Papaya and Hawthorn Essence (10 Double Whitening Speckles Remove Essence), Beauty Girl Ginseng and Green Cucumber (10 Double Whitening Speckles Removed), Beauty Girl Essence Aloe Pearl (10 Double Whitening Speckle Removed Essence) and Beauty Girl and Sheep Essence (10 Double Whitening Speckles Removed Essence) – all from Taiwan and whose listed manufacturer and distributor is Yudantang International – were found to “contain heavy metal (mercury) exceeding the allowable limit of one part per million.”

She ordered all FDA offices nationwide to confiscate the products from all outlets “where they may be found.”