Tests conducted by the Department of Health on South Korean-produced IPKN BB Cream, which made the news recently after it made a woman glow under black light, showed that while the product contains ingredients with fluorescent properties, the substances were not harmful.
Blemish balms, commonly known as BB cream, have become popular in recent years, as the product combines foundation, sun protection lotion and moisturizer in one mixture.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director-General Kang Jaw-jou (康照洲) said a chemical substance called disodium phenyl dibenzimidazole tetrasulfonate found in the cream acts as a sun protection agent. The substance gives off a fluorescent glow under ultraviolet light, but the fluorescence has nothing to do with whitening agents that can harm the body or increase the risk of cancer.
“Many chemical substances have fluorescent properties … the glow itself is not enough to determine whether [a substance] is safe or not,” Kang said.
The FDA said that because the substance was not known to pose health risks, its use in cosmetic products was fully legal in Taiwan, as well as in the EU, Australia and many other countries.
On Monday, reports said a Taiwanese woman who had used the cream discovered while in a nightclub that her face was giving off a bluish fluorescent glow under the black light. The sheen made her fear the product could contain harmful substances or have unexpected side effects.
Fluorescent agents can be added to some products to increase their whitening property. Because there is no consensus on whether fluorescent agents can cause cancer, however, most countries do not ban them in cosmetic products
Although health authorities did not find that the sun protection ingredients contained any hazardous substances, inspectors said they would continue testing to ensure that other BB cream products sold in Taiwan are safe.
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
The eastern extension of the Taipei MRT Red Line could begin operations as early as late June, the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems said yesterday. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said it is considering offering one month of free rides on the new section to mark its opening. Construction progress on the 1.4km extension, which is to run from the current terminal Xiangshan Station to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, was 90.6 percent complete by the end of last month, the department said in a report to the Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee. While construction began in October 2016 with an
NON-RED SUPPLY: Boosting the nation’s drone industry is becoming increasingly urgent as China’s UAV dominance could become an issue in a crisis, an analyst said Taiwan’s drone exports to Europe grew 41.7-fold from 2024 to last year, with demand from Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression the most likely driver of growth, a study showed. The Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) in a statement on Wednesday said it found that many of Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) sales were from Poland and the Czech Republic. These countries likely transferred the drones to Ukraine to aid it in its fight against the Russian invasion that started in 2022, it said. Despite the gains, Taiwan is not the dominant drone exporter to these markets, ranking second and fourth
The New Taipei City Art Museum this weekend plans to celebrate its first anniversary with a two-day extravaganza featuring live concerts and a large-scale synchronized fireworks and drone display, the New Taipei City Cultural Affairs Department said. The two-day celebrations are to take place in the museum’s outdoor park, with markets and live performances by singers including Ann Bai (白安), Bii (畢書盡) and the Cosmos People (宇宙人), the department said. The highlight on both evenings would be the "Echoes of Light" show, an aerial spectacle combining fireworks and drone performances designed around the concept of "dual stages in the sky," it
RSS