Lax Regulation Needs Revamp to Combat Child Cosmetic Issues

Background

Problematic child cosmetics have become an increasingly worrying issue in China in recent years. Lately, a spot check to 123 batches of cosmetics by Yangzhou FDA in Jiangsu Province revealed an alarming 12.5% of child cosmetics failed in a number of tests and were found to contain unacceptably high microorganism counts and heavy metals in addition to failing toxicological tests. Unqualified ingredients, substandard manufacturing environments and technical capacity issues were thought to be the key causative factors behind the shocking failure statistics.

Inadequate Regulatory Guidance Leaving Loopholes Open to Exploitation

Unlike cosmetics for adult use, China’s legislative efforts to regulate child cosmetics has so far been meager at best —summed up in the “Application and Review Guidance for Child Cosmetics”. It stipulates that the number of ingredients applied in producing child cosmetics should be kept to a minimum, discouraging the use of fragrance, colorant, preservative and surfactant and banning the use of special function ingredients for whitening and freckle-removing. Yet, it does not clarify limitations on additive usage nor does it provide a professional testing standard other than relevant industry standard. Its voluntary legal status also undermines its potency in acting as a deterrent to violators and unscrupulous manufacturers.

Adulteration of Children Cosmetics with Adult Ingredients is Rife

According to a recent survey conducted by reporters from FJQTS—a major news organization based in China, many child cosmetics were actually made of ingredients applied in adult cosmetics, despite claiming “Child Exclusive” on packages. Further digging into CFDA’s archive also reveals an alarmingly high number of unapproved children’s being sold in China posing serious risk of adulteration or use of out of scope ingredients.

Problematic Cosmetics in China’s Markets Offers Great Potential for Trustworthy Manufacturers with Good Reputation

Children’s skin structure and basic physiology differs from adults and in an interview with FJQTS, Doctor Zhou, a high ranking pediatrician from Nanjiang Military Region General Hospital, suggests, “Parents should be particularly careful in identifying the ingredients and formulations of child cosmetics, avoiding any products that risk skin irritation”. A survey of randomly selected shoppers conducted by FJQTS this June indicates a strong preference towards guaranteed safety in child cosmetics regardless of price. With safety awareness continuing to rise among consumers, marketing a truly safe product with a compliant ingredient list, ethical labeling claims produced using GMP standards could help companies cash in on China’s demand for safe children cosmetics.