UK supermarket fined over dangerous cosmetics

Published: 8-Sep-2015

Products contained mercury and lead

An independent supermarket in Birmingham, UK has been ordered to pay £6,000 in fines and damages after several cosmetic products on its shelves tested positive for dangerous ingredients.

Maaz Supermarket, located on Witton Road in Aston, was raided by UK trading standards officers in June 2014. Officials seized more than 300 products from the store. The owners were warned in 2011 by the regulator that several cosmetic products for sale in the store were not properly labelled or contained banned ingredients. The store was ordered to remove all non-compliant products and given guidance notes for future compliance.

During the latest raid, more than 300 items were taken away for testing at Birmingham City Council's laboratories, with some testing positive for mercury and lead – both highly toxic ingredients banned from use in cosmetics in the UK.

The store was found to be selling Stillman's Skin Bleach Cream, which contained 2.5% mercury – known to cause rashes, skin discolouration and scarring. KalaKola Hair Tonic was also on sale, containing 1% lead that can damage the brain, nervous system and kidneys if absorbed.

A number of other products, including Zubeda and Nandra Cone henna, Stillman's Freckle Cream and Arche Pearl Cream, were also seized. These products failed to comply with UK labelling requirements, with ingredients listed incorrectly or durability dates missing from packages.

This week, the store's owners pleased guilty to nine offences under the Cosmetic Products Enforcement Regulations Act 2013 at Birmingham Magistrates Court and were ordered to pay costs of £3,686 and a £35 victim surcharge in addition to a £6,171 fine.

Councillor Barbara Dring, Chair of Birmingham's Licensing and Public Protection Committee, said: "Consumers rely on cosmetic products such as hair products and skin creams being sade to use, and as such expect the labelling of ingredients to be accurate and clearly visible. The fact that some of these products did not list their ingredients correctly means many shoppers buying them were potentially put at risk."

Dring added: "Regardless of how good a consumer wants to look, they should always check the ingredients of any cosmetics, hair or skin product – otherwise they could end up with rashes, scarring or something worse, such as brain damage or reproductive problems, as an unwanted accessory."

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