Avon whitening cream banned in China after phenol discovered

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2013-12-07

The Avon cream found to contain the banned substance Phenol.
(Internet photo)

The China Food and Drug Administration has announced that Avon brand skin-whitening cream has been found to contain the prohibited substance phenol. The cream was one of six skin-whitening products to fail the authority's examinations. The administration said these products will now be removed from shelves in China, reports the Hong Kong-based Ta Kung Pao.

Avon Naturals Rose and Rose Hips Fairness Cream was named one of the unqualified products after the administration carried out examinations on 505 whitening, spot-removing and hair-dying products in Hebei, Jilin, Fujian, Shandong and Hunan provinces. The cream by US-based beauty products company Avon was found containing 12g/g of phenol.

Phenol is a precursor that is often used to make floor paints, wallpaper and cosmetics. The chemical may affect female fertility, with users finding it difficult to conceive or give birth. It may also cause liver and kidney damage, said Dong Jinshi, deputy secretary-general of the Beijing Society for Environmental Science.

Avon's Chinese division claimed that the cream has not been sold in China and is not included in its catalogue, but the product is available on Chinese online shopping websites such as Taobao. It also has a serial number from Chinese authorities.

It is not the first time that the company's products have failed to pass Chinese authorities' examinations. One of its sunscreen products failed to pass the tests of the Guangdong Food and Drug Administration in 2007 and one of its charcoal-based face washes failed in 2008.

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