MERCADONA PULLS COSMETICS AFTER HEALTH ALERT

News

Mark Nolan / 2012-08-16 16:58:11

a sample image of some of the product range

Spanish supermarket chain Mercadona has withdrawn 11 cosmetics products from its shelves after being informed by the Spanish Medicine Association that they each contain two substances that cannot be included together in one single product. However, both the supermarket and the ministry officials confirm that the anomaly posed no risk to the public.

The products are Deliplus nutritiva corporal con aceite de olive, Deliplus crema de manos nutritive, Deliplus hidratante corporal con aloe, Deliplus hidratante corporal efecto luminosidad, Deliplus hidrantante corporal reafirmante, Deliplus hidratante antisequedad para pies, Deliplus nutritiva corporal con almendras, Deliplus hidratante corporal pieles atópicas, Solcare loción after sun hidratante, Solcare loción after sun luminosidad and Solcare gel after sun aloe vera.

All products have now been replaced with those which comply with the ruling, but the problem was reported that the original items contained two elements, triethanolamine, a PH corrector, and bronopol, a preservative, which can create nitrosamine when combined, which has been shown to cause cancers among many species of animal.

Tests have shown the substance could also be a contributory factor to stomach cancer in humans. The Health Ministry said that use of the products would not lead to “any risk to health” in the short or medium term, but noted that studies suggest that nitrosamines can be harmful in the long term.

The product bar codes have also been changed, which would prevent any problematic item being sold, should it have slipped through the withdrawal process. Mercadona has also stated that it would exchange any products from the old batch of the products for new ones.

The company which provided the products to the supermarket, RNB, which produces products bearing the Deliplus brand name, said it understood that a change in the regulations put the onus on providers to ascertain that the conjunction of chemicals did not produce nitrosamines.

The company stated that their own technicians were satisfied that the products did not pose any risk, but the agency decided on a complete withdrawal the products as a precautionary measure.