Hong Kong Consumer Council calls for mandatory labelling on skin care products amid high rate of reaction-causing ingredients
Of 61 lotions surveyed, 57 were found to contain elements such as lanolin, preservatives or fragrance
Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog has called for mandatory labelling on all skin care products after dozens of lotions were found to contain ingredients that could trigger allergic reactions.
“These preservatives, fragrances and also different kinds of ingredients...would lead to the possibility of skin eruptions, redness, rashes or maybe an allergy,” the council’s chief executive Gilly Wong Fung-han said.
Of the six lotions branded as suitable for infants, one contained urea, which can cause skin irritations. And of the seven that contained formaldehyde-releasing preservatives, one was labelled as suitable for eczema patients, even tough the ingredient can cause allergic reactions.
Four of the 61 products surveyed, however, did not provide any ingredient labelling whatsoever, prompting the watchdog to call for legislation to make it mandatory to list all ingredients.
The watchdog also revealed that 325 consumer complaints had been received against skin care products in 2016, almost double the amount seen in 2015.