Recently, the Chongqing Municipal Food and Drug Administration issued a notice that in the sampling inspection of cosmetics in Chongqing in 2023, it was found that 4 batches of cosmetics did not meet the regulations, among which the brand-name cosmetics produced by American cosmeceutical companies - Oubangqi Brightening and Blemish Essence were found to have illegally added hydroquinone.
Hydroquinone, chemically known as hydroquinone, is a traditional and effective whitening ingredient. Hydroquinone has certain irritation, external use may cause erythema, burning, etc., and if the concentration is high, hydroquinone is also cytotoxic, long-term use may cause depigmentation, exogenous brown disease and other risks. China and many European countries have banned the addition of hydroquinone as a whitening ingredient in skin care products. Hydroquinone has always existed in mainland China in the form of prescription drugs and is only suitable for short-term topical use under the guidance of a dermatologist.
According to the investigation list, the other three batches of non-compliant cosmetics include WSMM sunscreen spray SPF50+PA+++ produced by Guangzhou Sanguang Biotechnology Co., Ltd., which did not detect the sunscreen indicated by the technical requirements on the product label and registration information, and Qingxi Olive Nourishing Shampoo and Qingxi Olive Emollient Body Wash produced by Chongqing Bihaiyuan Daily Chemical Products Co., Ltd., which were found to contain excessive preservatives that could stimulate the scalp and cause skin allergies.
According to the notice, in accordance with the "Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Cosmetics" and other relevant regulations, the Chongqing Municipal Food and Drug Administration has organized relevant departments to file a case for investigation of the sampled units of the above-mentioned non-compliant cosmetics in accordance with the law, and ordered the relevant enterprises to immediately take risk control measures in accordance with the law and carry out self-inspection and rectification. The market supervision and administration bureaus of all districts and counties in Chongqing Municipality have ordered the relevant cosmetics operators to immediately stop operating the above-mentioned cosmetics, investigate their purchase inspection records in accordance with the law, and trace the source of the illegal products;
Upstream news reporter Chen Yu