Pakistani beauty creams seized in Maharashtra contain extreme mercury levels
Laboratory reports show one seized cream has mercury levels over 48,000 times the permissible limit.
Beauty creams worth approximately Rs 39.69 lakh seized from a shop in Nanded, Maharashtra, contain dangerously high levels of mercury, according to a government laboratory report. The products were confiscated by Nanded police and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials during a raid at Afrah Collection in the Makkah Galli area on July 9.
According to the Times of India, the raid was conducted by a team from the Itwara police station. The shop operator, Mohammad Ziauddin Mohammad Wajid, was found stocking cosmetics with Urdu and English labels claiming Pakistani origin.
Laboratory tests revealed that PARLEY 24K Gold Gleam Beauty Cream contained 48,453.44 parts per million (PPM) of mercury, while the permissible limit is 1 PPM. GOREE Beauty Cream with Lycopene was found to have 6,924.94 PPM of mercury.
Officials stated that prolonged exposure to excessive mercury and heavy metals can lead to neurological complications, kidney damage, and skin disorders. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) had previously issued a public health alert in September regarding two Pakistani-labelled whitening creams.
A case has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, and the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act. Police have requested that citizens report the sale of suspicious, unlicensed, or counterfeit imported goods.