Taiwan has detected banned Sudan red dyes in cosmetics for the first time, prompting 14 local and foreign companies to recall affected products and suspend their sales.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday said it learned late last month that some Chinese-made cosmetics might contain the banned dyes, tracing them to the source, raw materials supplied by Singapore-based Campo Research Pte Ltd.
Dermatologists warned that the dyes are potentially carcinogenic. Accidental ingestion from lip products poses the highest risk, though external-use cosmetics should not contain banned substances.
Photo courtesy of the Food and Drug Administration
On Nov. 4, the FDA notified domestic manufacturers and importers to check raw material sources and step up quality control, while it began random checks of suspected Chinese products from online platforms.
Similar contamination was later confirmed in a makeup remover by Chinese company Kimtrue and in a lip oil by Taiwanese company Greenvines. Both companies ordered the removal of their products from sales platforms immediately.
On Wednesday, the FDA inspected Taiwanese importer Eho Co and seized five batches of raw materials from Campo Research, three of which were confirmed the next day to contain Sudan IV.
The contaminated materials had been distributed to 14 companies, including Shanghai Li Rou Economic Development Co, O’right Inc and Greenvines, according to the agency.
The FDA has since required all affected companies to complete a self-inspection within 48 hours, report products using the problematic raw materials, and remove them from sale until safety is confirmed.
Under the Cosmetic Hygiene and Safety Act (化妝品衛生安全管理法), using banned dyes can result in fines ranging from NT$20,000 to NT$5 million (US$636 to US$159,083). Products found non-compliant must be recalled and destroyed.
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Monday announced light shows and themed traffic lights to welcome fans of South Korean pop group Twice to the port city. The group is to play Kaohsiung on Saturday as part of its “This Is For” world tour. It would be the group’s first performance in Taiwan since its debut 10 years ago. The all-female group consists of five South Koreans, three Japanese and Tainan’s Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), the first Taiwan-born and raised member of a South Korean girl group. To promote the group’s arrival, the city has been holding a series of events, including a pop-up
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday voiced dissatisfaction with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans- Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), whose latest meeting, concluded earlier the same day, appeared not to address the country’s application. In a statement, MOFA said the CPTPP commission had "once again failed to fairly process Taiwan’s application," attributing the inaction to the bloc’s "succumbing to political pressure," without elaborating. Taiwan submitted its CPTPP application under the name "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu" on Sept. 22, 2021 -- less than a week after China
TEMPORAL/SPIRITUAL: Beijing’s claim that the next Buddhist leader must come from China is a heavy-handed political maneuver that will fall flat-faced, experts said China’s requirement that the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation to be born in China and approved by Beijing has drawn criticism, with experts at a forum in Taipei yesterday saying that if Beijing were to put forth its own Dalai Lama, the person would not be recognized by the Tibetan Buddhist community. The experts made a remarks at the two-day forum hosted by the Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama titled: “The Snow Land Forum: Finding Common Ground on Tibet.” China says it has the right to determine the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, as it claims sovereignty over Tibet since ancient times,
RSS