China, Taiwan - Glutathione Skin whitening in Philippines high poisonous Mercury content - CANCER

Anti-toxics group warns vs 5 more skin whiteners with poisonous mercury

At least five more skin whiteners have been found with toxic levels of mercury, an ecological group said over the weekend.

 The EcoWaste Coalition said this is despite the Food and Drug Administration's recent expansion of its black list of cosmetics products to 71.

 "We have promptly alerted the FDA about our findings urging the agency to take immediate action to warn consumers and decisively halt the illegal sale of these cosmetics to protect the public health and the environment," said campaigner Aileen Lucero.

Ecowaste Coalition

The group said it found five products to have "outrageous" amounts of mercury, with one having up to 26,700 parts per million (ppm) - way above the government's limit of 1 ppm.

 Earlier, the FDA placed up to 71 cosmetic products on its black list after finding them to have highly toxic levels of mercury.

See the FDA Lists of Products with high contents of poisonous mercury http://www.fda.gov.ph/Advisory/DOH-FDA2012-018.pdf

 According to the group, it bought the new samples with prices ranging from P70 to P250 last Dec. 8 from Chinese medicine stores, health and beauty shops in Baclaran, Cubao and Guadalupe.

 It said the tainted products included:

 - "Natural Orange Whitening and Anti-Aging Package" claiming "all-natural botanical formula" tested with the highest level of mercury at 22,300 ppm for the day cream, and 26,700 ppm for the night cream. The label purportedly shows GLDJB (Harbin) Cosmetics Co., Ltd. as the manufacturer, but failed to mention the country of manufacture.

 - "Spring Return Ginseng and Pearl Natural Pure Plants Whitening Cream," allegedly from New York, USA, had 10,900 ppm of mercury in its night cream. The packaging provided no details about the manufacturer.

 - "TVC Spot Remover," reportedly from Mexico but "made in PRC" had 10,100 ppm of mercury. No information about the manufacturer is given on the label.

 - "Yudantang Green Olive and Papaya Natural Essence 6 Days Specific Eliminating Freckle Whitening Sun Block Cream," supposedly from Taiwan, had 8,391 ppm of mercury in the night cream.

 - "Fruit & Lovely Quickacting Whitener & Speckle Remover Package," which has zero information about its manufacturer, had 192 ppm for the day cream and 628 ppm for the night cream.  

EcoWaste Coalition warned consumers against being directly exposed to cosmetic products containing more than 1 ppm of mercury run the risk of possible toxicity.

 It cited the FDA's health advisory indicating "there have been cases of adverse health effects brought about by highly toxic mercury in cosmetic products, such as kidney damage, skin rashes, skin discoloration and scarring." (http://is.gd/02TTDz)

GMA News 

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Philippines improves 24 points standing in corruption perception index 2012

The Philippines improved its standing in Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index this year by moving up 24 points, from 129th place in 2011 to 105th.

Results released yesterday showed that with a score of 34, the Philippines is tied with Algeria, Armenia, Bolivia, Gambia, Kosovo, Mali, and Mexico. Transparency International said it has updated the methodology for the CPI, which is now presented on a scale from zero for highly corrupt to 100 that means very clean.

Records showed that the Philippines also jumped five notches in 2011 at 129th place from 134th in 2010, the year when President Aquino was elected into office.

The 2012 CPI said Denmark, Finland, and New Zealand were tied at the top with a score of 90, followed by Sweden with 88, Singapore with 87, Switzerland with 86, Australia with 85, and Norway also with 85.The United States ranked 19th with 73 points while China ranked 82nd with a score of 39 among 176 countries and territories covered by the corruption perception survey, now on its 18th year.

Tied at the bottom three of this year's list, posting similar scores of only eight CPI points, were Afghanistan, North Korea, and Somalia. Transparency International said the survey is anchored on perceived levels of public sector corruption, with the index drawing on 13 surveys covering expert assessments and surveys of business people.

The CPI is the leading indicator of public sector corruption, offering a yearly snapshot of the relative degree of the corruption problem by ranking countries worldwide.

In the 2012 CPI, the group said Denmark, Finland and New Zealand tie for first because of strong access to information systems and rules governing the behaviour of those in public positions.

Transparency International said Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia once again are in the bottom of the index because of the countries' lack of accountable leadership and effective public institutions that underscore the need to take a much stronger stance against corruption.

Underperformers in the CPI 2012 also include the Eurozone countries most affected by the financial and economic crisis.

Transparency International said it has consistently warned Europe to address corruption risks in the public sector to tackle the financial crisis, calling for strengthened efforts to corruption-proof public institutions.

"Corruption is the world's most talked about problem," stated Cobus de Swardt, managing director of Transparency International.

"The world's leading economies should lead by example, making sure that their institutions are fully transparent and their leaders are held accountable," he added. "This is crucial since their institutions play a significant role in preventing corruption from flourishing globally," De Swardt said. (http://is.gd/GK5BDD)

The Philippine Star

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