Watsons China recalled its own brand of a whitening facial mask across the mainland following a claim that it caused a woman's death.
The woman, 42, from Fuzhou , Fujian province, saw her whole body turn red and her lips turn black after using Watsons' White Pearl facial mask on Tuesday. She died in a hospital, fjsen.com, a key news portal in Fujian, reported.
In a statement posted on its official Sina Weibo account, Watsons China confirmed that the woman had used the product. More than 900,000 boxes of three masks had been sold since 2010.
Watsons China, the largest health and beauty chain on the mainland, said it had not received any complaints about allergic reactions related to the mask.
But the company decided on Tuesday to temporarily pull the product from its stores, including its online shops at Taobao.com, and has removed it from its official website.
The product met national quality standards and passed a toxicological risk assessment conducted by a third-party testing agency in Europe, the company said. 'There is no evidence to show any connection between the death of the customer and this product,' it said.