Recently, 16 whitening products, verified to obtain no market authorization from Philippines FDA and made not in compliance with Good Manufacturing Practice, are banned to be sold.
Philippine FDA announced that most of the unqualified cosmetic products are imported from China and are not notified to the department according to ASEAN Cosmetic Directive and FDA rules and Regulations.
Since these products are not produced under GMP, adverse effects will be caused as they may contain excessive heavy metals, like lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic based on the ASEAN standards.