Thousands Of Cosmetics With Hazardous Substances Still In Market

Jakarta, Oct 21 (Antara) - Thousands of cosmetics containing hazardous substances are still in circulation in the country, a Drugs and Food Control Agency (BPOM) official said. "Of the 2,926 companies we checked, (products from) 1,040 were found failing to meet regulatory standards covering 633 items (42,248 pieces) and containing hazardous substances totaling 52 items (2,529 pieces)," said BPOM`s Deputy for Traditional, Cosmetic and Complementary Products Supervision, Bahdar Hamid, at a press conference here on Monday. Based on the results of checks conducted between January and June this year, the BPOM has issued warnings to 680 lines, destroyed 44,777 cosmetic products, recommended a temporary shutdown of six lines, and filed a lawsuit against six others. In 2012, the BPOM had conducted checks at 7,005 companies. Of these, 2,005 had been found not meeting the regulatory standards and had been given warnings. Although the number of cosmetic products found with hazardous substances has dropped, the BPOM will continue conducting checks in view of the danger the substances pose to human health, said Bahdar. "Most dangerous substances found have been whitening and coloring substances such as mercury, hydroquinone, and rhodamin," he noted. Bahdar urged the public to be careful and to avoid using products that are not licensed. "They may check products registered by the BPOM at our website www.pom.go.id. In theory, these products are safe," he remarked. While many of the unsafe products have come from China and are being sold without permits, there are also a number of local products containing hazardous substances in the market, Bahdar noted. "Their numbers are equal," he added.