CONCERNED PARENTS:
We Charming said they tested the product after a customer contacted them saying their daughter was showing signs of early development.
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By Lee I-chia / Staff Reporter
A cosmetics company announced a recall of three batches of skin cream containing a banned estrogenic substance on Friday, a day after a doctor said several children who used the skin cream were showing signs of precocious puberty.
We Charming Enterprise Co (誼辰佳國際實業) said in a Facebook statement that it is recalling three batches of its Allergic Skin Cream (菁萃深效修護霜) because it contains an ingredient whose use is not allowed in beauty products.
The three lots bear the number 0538, which expires on December 9, 2024; No. 1532, which expires March 17, 2025; and #1533, which expires May 3, 2025.
The company said it received a report late last month from a person who arranged a group purchase of the product saying his daughter and her classmates were showing signs of precocious puberty after using the cream in July and August. .
We Charming said it sent samples of seven batches of its stock and another of a batch being filled at a factory to SGS Taiwan for lab testing.
The results showed three batches contained estrogen, he said, adding that he was contacting customers and issuing a recall.
The Food and Drug Administration confirmed yesterday that it had received reports of the product and that the Taoyuan Public Health Department was investigating the matter.
Since certain components of estrogen are banned from use in cosmetics, the company could be fined between NT$20,000 and 5 million (US$622 and $155,531) for violating the Cosmetics Health and Safety Law (化妝品衛生安全管理法), It said.
Pediatric endocrinology specialist Huang Shih-kang (黃世綱) wrote on Facebook on Thursday afternoon that some doctors had reported that several young children, aged two or three, were showing signs of early breast development.
In a more severe case of precocious puberty, a three-year-old would have started menstruating, he wrote.
Huang said the cases had used the same body cream, but since he had no direct evidence of a causal link between the cream and the incidents of precocious puberty, he could not reveal the brand. and the name of the product.
He wrote that it was a skincare product for adult women misused on children with eczema.
He advised parents not to expose children to women’s cosmetics that claim to “delay aging” or improve skin condition.
Additional reports by CNA
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