Maharashtra FDA issues warning against 3 cosmetic products due to high mercury and lead content

The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (MFDA) issued a public warning against three cosmetic products on Sunday. The authorities claimed that the beauty care products contain mercury and lead at dangerously high levels compared to permissible levels, raising health concerns.

The declared products are: Goree Beauty Cream, Face Fresh Gold (Beauty Cream + Beauty Serum), and Golden Star Beauty Cream. Here’s a closer look at the MFDA’s urgent warning against the cosmetic products with heavy metals.

MFDA warns of the risk of kidney failure and damage to the nervous system

MFDA flagged the aforementioned cosmetic products, citing that prolonged use may lead to kidney failure, as well as damage to the nervous system and skin, as per an NDTV Marathi report. The drug regulator has asked beauty care product users to immediately stop the purchase, consumption, and distribution.

Moreover, the personal care items did not mention the mandatory information such as the manufacturer's name and address, batch number, manufacturing date, and expiry date.

As a result of the failed laboratory tests, MFDA has asked the retailers, distributors, and the e-commerce middlemen to halt the sale and stocking of the warned products. The authorities have asked the businesses to submit an official report to the FDA on the products recalled from the market and keeping those in their possession.

Furthermore, MFDA issued an appeal to the citizens to buy the products from authorized sellers and check that the packaging possesses all the mandatory details.

Chirag Barjatya shared an X post about the products and the damages

Social media influencer and entrepreneur Chirag Barjatya shared a post on X, detailing the damages caused to eighteen women from Nagpur due to consumption of the flagged products. “18 women in Nagpur, Maharashtra complained about kidney problems to their doctors in the span of two years. Doctors saw a pattern and checked that all of them were using this pakistani cream sold by many Instagram pages and meesho,” he penned in a July 5 post.

“FDA Maharashtra took the cream samples. Sent to lab and found out that it has 752x mercury present in it above the legal limits. yes, 752x. Yes, This mercury (poison in this case) can make you goree in 15 days because it blocks the cell that makes melanin. But in reality thats a chemical damage that looks like fairness. And guess what, our skin absorbs mercury and keeps getting deposited in kidney all the time,” he added, urging the consumers to stop the use.

Furthermore, he shared the concern that even if you as an individual are not using the harmful beauty care products, ask around and advise them to throw away.