70 pct of cosmetic products unsafe: Ministry

ANKARA

The Health Ministry has determined that 70 percent of cosmetic products, including mosquito repellent and disinfectants, are unsafe and against the legislation.

Within the scope of the inspections carried out by the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (TİTCK) in the first nine months, 70 percent of products such as hand sanitizer, fly repellant, also known as biocidal products, and other cosmetic products were not in compliance with regulatory requirements.

The TİTCK imposed an administrative fine of 2.6 million Turkish Liras ($140,00) on the companies selling these products, which pose a danger to public health.

According to data released in quarterly periods, the authorities inspected more products compared to previous periods, while the rate of non-conformance with the legislation also increased.

Some 40 out of 73 biocidal products were found to contain inappropriate substances, while the agency decided that 758 out of 1,050 cosmetic products did not completely meet the requirements.

The total amount of administrative fines for biocidal products was over 1 million liras ($54,000), while the companies that manufactured and sought the cosmetic products were fined almost 1.5 million liras ($81,000).

After being included in the category of unsafe products under the Cosmetic Law, 13,673 perfumes and deodorants that were fake, smuggled, or imitated versions and whose manufacturers could not be detected were destroyed.

TİTCK noted that one of the most effective solutions to the presence of a considerable amount of unsafe products on the market is consumer complaints.

According to the TİTCK 2023 Risk Revision Plan, the first measures and steps to be taken are to increase the competence of the personnel in the provincial health directorates who participate in inspections and to eliminate the inadequacy of the number of personnel.

Reducing the period of the product analysis process, which often prolongs due to difficulties in the procurement of experimental animals, was another decision to prevent the production of unsafe products.

The ministry will also achieve dominance in the market that could not be established due to the low awareness of experts and consumers to report unexpected side effects of these kinds of products.

Last year, a fine of around 3.7 million liras ($200,00) was given for 125 of 154 biocidal products inspected, while a fine of over 15 million liras was imposed for 975 out of 1,392 cosmetic products.

The number of perfumes and deodorants destroyed due to their hazardous contents was 24,716.