The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Saturday ordered two types of cosmetic products manufactured by Tainan-based TJ Group (台鉅集團) off shelves nationwide after they were found to contain asbestos.
The order came after US and Canadian authorities on July 3 informed the agency that five foreign-branded beauty products sold in those countries that were found to contain asbestos were made by a contract manufacturer in Taiwan.
A preliminary investigation by the FDA found that four of the products were made by TJ Group, which was on July 9 ordered to remove the products from shelves nationwide as a precautionary measure.
As a follow-up measure, the FDA inspected the company’s factory in Tainan and released the results of tests it conducted on nine of the 12 samples collected from the plant.
It said that City Color Contour Palette and Contour Palette 2 Bronze Highlight were found to contain asbestos and were ordered off shelves.
About 60 products, all manufactured by Fuqing Jianing Cosmetics Co (福清佳寧化妝品有限), a TJ Group subsidiary in China, were already on the market, the FDA said.
People who had bought the two products should stop using them immediately and ask for a refund from the store where they bought them, FDA cosmetics and drug division chief Chang Chia-jung (張家榮) told a news conference.
Remaining samples are still being tested, with the results expected to be released on Thursday or Friday, the FDA said.
According to the Cosmetic Hygiene and Safety Act (化妝品衛生安全管理法), TJ Group could be fined NT$20,000 to NT$5 million (US$643 to US$160,823), Chang said.
The company has been ordered to complete the product recall within two weeks, he added.
Tainan authorities working with FDA officials on Friday inspected TJ Group’s offices and seized 385 products — 340 sets of City Color Contour Palette and 45 sets of Contour Palette 2 Bronze Highlight — the Tainan Department of Health said.
The Tainan City Government has instructed the company to submit a recall plan within seven days and alert retailers of the recall, the department said.
The company said it imported 457 of the products from China last year and removed them from shelves after receiving notification last month that similar products were found to contain asbestos.
Asbestos poses serious health hazards, Chang said.
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