Malaysia: Popular cosmetics found poisonous

KUALA LUMPUR: A well-known cosmetic brand popular with many local women has been found to contain a poisonous chemical which can cause skin cancer.

Health Ministry enforcement officers recently raided a warehouse in Subang and seized almost 15,000 boxes of the cosmetic worth RM344,000 containing tretinoin.

Tretinoin is most commonly used as a form of acne treatment.
However, the cosmetic product seized by authorities claimed to help users enjoy whiter, clearer and firmer skin.

Authorities also discovered that the products were sold by a local businessman who claimed that it had been approved by the health ministry and also possessed halal certification.

Ministry pharmaceutical services division principal assistant director Hatta Ahmad said the products had not been approved by the authorities and did not have the halal certificate.
Enforcement officers raided the warehouse on Tuesday about 11.30am as investigations revealed the importer used the premises to store the cosmetics.

“During the raid, a store supervisor in her 30s and several workers were busy packaging the products which were sold in three-in-one packages.

“Checks showed that the importer had brought the products in from a neighbouring country before supplying it to a local company which distributed it.”
It is understood that the woman supervisor accused enforcement officers of attempted extortion and even sexual harassment, despite the fact that there were women enforcement officers present in the raid.

Unsupervised usage of tretinoin can also cause birth defects.