In a state-wide raid to unearth spurious/misbranded cosmetics, the intelligence branch of the drugs control department in Kerala has seized huge quantities of spurious or misbranded skin creams, face creams, talcum powders including baby powders, perfumes and deodorants from retail outlets in all the districts in the state.

The confiscated articles include popular Johnson's Baby Powder, Johnson's Baby Fragranced Aqueous Cream, Johnson's Baby Oil, Dabur Watika Styling Jelly, Ponds Cold Cream, Fair & Lovely (Multivitamin fair skin cream) and Ponds Age Miracle daily Resurfacing Cream and Nivea Breast Cream.

The raid was initiated following a research study held by the Delhi Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research (DIPSAR), New Delhi on the various brands of cosmetics sold in the country.

The Institute has reported that most of the available cosmetic brands are containing toxic substances like lead, arsenic, cobalt and nickel, which when applied on the skin, permeates into the body and causes serious side effects which include from simple dermatitis to carcinoma, C S Satheesh Kumar, Drugs Controller of Kerala told Pharmabiz.

In most of the seized products, there was no mention about the manufacturer, batch number or date of manufacturing, he added. The confiscated articles were produced before the concerned judicial courts in each district.

Some of the products were manufactured under Ayurveda manufacturing licences, but the products are containing allopathic ingredients (eg Himani Boroplus Prickly Heat Powder). Nikki Toilet Soap, detected in a shop in Kannur, did not mention the total fatty matter on its label. The After Shave Lotion taken from Kasargodu district has no manufacturing date or batch number. Nivea Breast Cream seized from Thrissur shows no sale drug licence.

So many other items including various brands of After shave lotions, glycerine I P,  Absorbant cotton wool I P, Hydrogen Peroxide I P, perfumes, face creams, face powders and creams were seized following violation of several norms of drugs and cosmetics rules.

Satheesh Kumar said the officials of the department will conduct further enquiries in the matter to trace out the sources of manufacturing of these products for bringing the culprits before the court of law and to curb the sales of such products in the state.  According to Section 27-A of the Drugs & Cosmetics Act 1940, he said, “whoever himself or by any other person on his behalf manufactures for sale or for distribution, or sells, or stocks or exhibits or offers for sale any cosmetic deemed to be spurious shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 3 years and with fine which shall not be less than Rs. 50,000 or 3 times the value of the cosmetics confiscated, whichever is more”.

In the case of misbranded cosmetics, the punishment will be imprisonment for a term which may extend to 1 year or with fine which may extend to Rs. 20,000 or  both, the drugs controller said