Thiruvananthapuram: Counterfeit cosmetics worth nearly ₹10 lakh, including Pakistan-made creams allegedly sold without purchase bills, have been seized in Kerala during Operation Soundarya, a statewide crackdown by the Drugs Control Department.
State Health Minister K Muraleedharan on Wednesday warned that such products could cause serious skin and other health problems and directed the department to take stringent measures to prevent their entry into the market.
The seizures, carried out in four phases of the drive through the last week of July, totalled ₹9.64 lakh, he said in a statement.
The first phase accounted for cosmetics worth ₹5,09,303, followed by ₹2.50 lakh in the second phase, ₹1.50 lakh in the third and ₹55,000 in the fourth.
Muraleedharan said the operation was launched to curb the sale of counterfeit and substandard cosmetics, particularly amid concerns over health problems associated with excessive use of face creams among children and adolescents.
The seized products included cosmetics manufactured or distributed without valid licences, those that did not conform to the standards prescribed under the Cosmetics Rules, 2020, and products marketed in violation of legal requirements.
During statewide inspections, the Drugs Intelligence wing collected samples of face creams, lipsticks, baby powder, baby soap, baby oil and other cosmetics and sent them to Drugs Testing Laboratories in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi for quality testing.
Some samples of lipstick and face creams were found to contain mercury above permissible limits.
The department subsequently initiated steps to withdraw the products from the market and take legal action against those involved in their illegal manufacture and distribution, he said.
Only 1 ppm of mercury is permitted in face creams, while samples of ‘Faiza’ and ‘Goree’ face creams seized from the Kerala market were found to contain mercury levels of up to 20,000 ppm, the minister said.
The Pakistan-made creams were allegedly being sold without purchase bills and could cause serious skin and other health problems, he said, urging people not to use such products.
The minister directed the Drugs Control Department to take stringent measures to ensure that only cosmetics manufactured under valid licences and conforming to prescribed quality standards are sold in the market.
He urged consumers to check whether cosmetics were manufactured under a valid licence and whether the manufacturer’s name and full address, along with other mandatory labelling details, were provided on the packaging.
Complaints regarding suspicious cosmetic products or violations can be lodged with the Drugs Control Department’s toll-free helpline at 1800-425-3182, the statement added.