Government and Policy

China to set up safety system for cosmetics

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-08-27 20:00

YIWU, Zhejiang - China's State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) has moved to create the country's first safety assessment and monitoring system for cosmetics and skin care products, said an SFDA official.

The SFDA would soon issue an implementation plan for monitoring safety of cosmetics and skin care products as part of the system, said the official, who declined to be named, during an SFDA meeting on safety supervision that ended Friday in Yiwu city, east China's Zhejiang province.

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However, the official did not reveal the exact date for issuing the plan.

The SFDA had drawn up a draft plan for a product test system, was re-examining the qualifications of agencies that approve cosmetics and skin care products, and was screening candidates for a safety commission, he said.

The official also said the SDFA would work to optimize the emergency response system for safety incidents, noting that such incidents had aroused great public concern.

Safety watchdogs across the country would strengthen emergency response capabilities by making emergency plans and securing enough technological, personnel, and material support among other things, the official said.

The SDFA on Tuesday issued guidelines on its website that specify procedures, requirements and other information of safety assessment of cosmetics and skin care products.

It would be China's first system to assess and monitor safety of cosmetics and skin care products.

In 2006, Japanese-made products of SK-II, a brand of the US firm Procter & Gamble Co were found in China to contain chromium.

Chromium is an element that causes skin allergies and is widely prohibited in the production of cosmetics and skin care products.

The findings stirred waves of consumer demand for refunds nationwide and P&G temporarily pulled SK-II from Chinese mainland stores.

As it later turned out, the banned element was not added deliberately, but was contained in other ingredients of the products.