Against the backdrop of violations to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently filed First Information Report (FIR) against a South Mumbai - based beauty parlour at Cuffe Parade Police station for using spurious hair cream on clients.

The owner has been booked under Section 27(a) (1) and Section 17 D (d) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. The penalty may range from imprisonment of 3 years with a fine of not less than Rs. 50, 000. FDA will assist the police in the future course of investigation. Officials have also moved to Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) in order to support the investigation process.  

FDA made a crackdown based on an anonymous complaint accusing the owner Seema Singh of using spurious creams on clients at the Naval Wives Welfare Association beauty parlour at Navy Nagar in violation of the Drug and Cosmetics Act. Seema Singh owns two outlets in Colaba and had also rented the parlour in Navy Nagar but did not run it under her own brand name.

Assistant Commissioner (Vigilance) FDA, Madhuri Pawar informed, "Around 22 containers having chemicals such as trisodium phosphate, caustic soda, isopropyl alcohol, methylparaben were seized during the raid. The FDA lab tests found that the cream was not of standard quality with the composition of chemicals varying with the original product."

"The products were further found not of standard quality when we sent the same samples to L'Oreal India for screening," informed Pawar.

FDA officials said that Singh had used the chemicals to manufacture the cream without any quality and safety control, thus putting her clients at risk of allergies and other side effects.  

FDA had a few months back filed FIR against Mumbai - based weight loss firm for publishing misleading advertisement in a reputed national daily making a false claim that it is FDA approved.

FDA officials informed that making false claims about the treatment of weight loss by the centre like advance weight loss and that the treatment offered is FDA approved is in violation of certain sections of IPC and Drugs and Magic Remedies (DMR) Act. Around 160 notices were served in Thane and 121 in Mumbai last year in violation of the DMR Act.

A team of FDA officials raided the premises of the centre following the misleading advertisement and enquired about the drugs used or the therapy involved but the staff at the centre failed to give a satisfactory answer on their claims.

Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, seeks to curtail undesirable advertisements pertaining to drugs and magic remedies because advertising is considered to encourage self medication of harmful drugs. The Act lists the diseases and disorders in respect of which advertising is banned (Under Section 3 and Schedule of the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act, 1954.