Wan Mohamed Radzi, Che Wan Jasimah and Nordin, Fatin Nur Majdina (2022) Status of cosmetic safety in Malaysia market: Mercury contamination in selected skin whitening products. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 21 (12). pp. 6875-6882. ISSN 1473-2130, DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/jocd.15429.
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
BackgroundConcern on cosmetic safety has been a subject of interest in recent years and is commonly associated with the exposure of the consumers to chemicals and impurities such as mercury contamination. Moreover, cancellations of notified cosmetic products were recurrently being reported by the Malaysia authority, namely the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Authority (NPRA). Among the cosmetic categories was skin whitening product, which is still in high demand whilst reported to cause health risks. Besides, low number of studies on cosmetic safety and mercury contamination were recorded in Malaysia. The lack of scientific evidence on the safety and risks of the ingredients used in cosmetic formulation is a major concern to many consumers. ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to identify the presence of mercury in skin whitening products, and to identify products containing mercury with the concentration exceeding the limitation of 1 ppm. MethodologyA total of 104 whitening products were selected from the market via random sampling technique. The mercury concentration was determined by accredited laboratory, and the results were later compared with the cosmetic guideline of Malaysia and the list of banned products issued by NPRA. ResultsA total of 51.9% (n = 54) whitening products were found registered under the NPRA Quest system and remaining 48.1% (n = 50) were non-registered products. None of the whitening products listed mercury as an ingredient, but laboratory analysis showed 15.4% (n = 16) of the products contained mercury with the concentration exceeding the maximum limit of 1 ppm. A total of 87.5% of the whitening products (14 out of 16) containing high mercury concentration were non-registered products which were not registered in NPRA Quest system. The exceeded concentration recorded ranged between 1.81 ppm and 838 123 ppm. Besides that, 50% (8 out of 16) of the products were found in the list of banned products issued by the NPRA of Malaysia. ConclusionsThis study presents the status of cosmetic products, particularly the skin whitening products available in Malaysia market. Concern arises when some of the products were found to have presence of harmful substances such as mercury. Even though the presence of mercury in a cosmetic product can either be non-intentional or intentionally used by the manufacturer in the cosmetic formulation, the impact of the ingredient can cause health risk to the users.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Funders: | University of Malaya Research Grant under the Grand Challenge for Humanities Research Cluster, Department of Science and Technology Studies, University of Malaya, GC002C-17HNE |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Compliance; Health risks; Impurities; Ingredients; Regulation |
| Subjects: | Q Science > QD Chemistry |
| Divisions: | Academy of Islamic Studies Faculty of Science > Department of Science and Technology Studies |
| Depositing User: | Ms. Juhaida Abd Rahim |
| Date Deposited: | 19 Oct 2023 08:08 |
| Last Modified: | 23 Oct 2023 07:40 |
| URI: | http://eprints.um.edu.my/id/eprint/40302 |
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