Skin lightening products' violations in Europe: An analysis of the rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products 2005-2018

A Systematic Review of Mercury Exposures from Skin-Lightening Products

BACKGROUND

The Minamata Convention on Mercury (Article 4) prohibits the manufacture, import, or export of skin-lightening products containing mercury concentrations above 1 ppm. However, there is a lack of knowledge surrounding the global prevalence of mercury-added skin-lightening products.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to increase our understanding of worldwide human mercury exposure from skin-lightening products.

METHODS

A systematic search of peer-reviewed scientific literature was performed for relevant articles in four databases (PubMed, Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, and TOXLINE). The search strategy, eligibility criteria, and data-extraction methods were established a priori. The search identified 2,303 unique scientific articles, of which 41 were ultimately deemed eligible for inclusion after iterative screens at the title, abstract, and whole-text levels. To facilitate data extraction and synthesis, all papers were organized according to four data groups a) "Mercury in products," b) "Usage of products," c) "Human biomarkers of exposure," and d) "Health impacts."

RESULTS

This review was based on data contained in 41 peer-reviewed scientific papers from 22 countries worldwide published between 2000 and 2022. In total, we captured mercury concentration values from 787 skin-lightening product samples [overall pooled central median mercury level was 0.49μg/g; interquartile range (IQR): 0.02-5.9] and 1,042 human biomarker measurements from 863 individuals. We also synthesized usage information from 3,898 individuals and self-reported health impacts associated with using mercury-added products from 832 individuals.

DISCUSSION

This review suggests that mercury widely exists as an active ingredient in many skin-lightening products worldwide and that users are at risk of variable and often high exposures. These synthesized findings identify data gaps and help increase our understanding of the health risks associated with the use of these products. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP10808.

A review of product safety regulations in the European Union

Product safety has been a concern in Europe ever since the early 1960s. Despite the long and relatively stable historical lineage of product safety regulations, new technologies, changes in the world economy, and other major transformations have in recent years again brought product safety to the forefront of policy debates. As reforms are also underway, there is a motivation to review the complex safety policy framework in the European Union (EU). Thus, building on deliberative policy analysis and an interpretative literature review, this paper reviews the safety policy for nonfood consumer products in the EU. The review covers the historical background and the main laws, administration and enforcement, standardization and harmonization, laws enacted for specific products, notifications delivered by national safety authorities, recalls of dangerous products, and the liability of these. Based on the review and analysis of these themes and the associated literature, some current policy challenges are further discussed.

Use of Personal Care Products and Semen Quality: A Cross-Sectional Study in Young Danish Men

Personal care products (PCPs) may contain multiple chemicals capable of harming male reproductive function. The aim of this study was, therefore, to assess aggregated PCP exposure and potential associations with measures of semen quality in young men. Participants (n = 1058, age 18–21) were sampled among young men from the Danish National Birth Cohort (DNBC). Upon recruitment in 2017–2019, each man answered an online questionnaire and provided a semen sample. Exposure to 12 common types of PCPs was derived from the questionnaire, and the extent of use and co-use was analyzed. We applied a negative binomial regression model to estimate percentage differences in semen parameters between low, medium and high PCP exposure groups. All participants were exposed to at least one PCP more than once a week, resulting in a mean number (SD) of 5.3 (2.0) PCPs currently used. Most participants (92%) were also exposed to fragranced products on a weekly basis. Little association was observed between aggregated exposure to PCPs and sperm concentration, total sperm count, semen volume, sperm motility and morphology. Despite prevalent use of multiple PCPs, we found little indication of adverse effects of aggregated overall or fragranced PCP exposure on semen quality.

Microbiological contamination of cosmetic products - observations from Europe, 2005-2018

BACKGROUND

Although cosmetic products are not expected to be fully aseptic, their potential microbiological contamination might be dangerous, especially for immunocompromised patients. The extent of such contamination of cosmetics in Europe is poorly studied.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study was to explore whether microbiologically contaminated cosmetic products are available for sale in Europe and what type of contamination was reported.

METHODS

We searched the European Union Rapid Information System for dangerous non-food products (Rapex), a database of non-compliant products among 31 European countries, to identify microbiologically contaminated cosmetics reported between 2005 and 2018, and present a detailed summary of these notifications.

RESULTS

In the years 2005-2018, 104 reports on microbiologically contaminated cosmetics were identified. Twenty of them were products for children. The majority of the products (65.38%) were produced in Rapex member states. In most cases, contamination was caused by Gram-negative bacteria (59.62%), mostly Pseudomonas spp. (35.58%) and Enterobacter spp. (11.54%).

CONCLUSIONS

Gram-negative rod-shaped bacteria are the most common microbiota contaminating cosmetic products in Europe. Most of the reported microbiologically contaminated cosmetics originated from European countries.