The third phase of Operation Soundarya, launched by the State Drugs Control department to check the dumping of spurious cosmetic products in the market, has seized cosmetics of substandard quality worth ₹1.5 lakh in raids conducted in over 101 outlets.
A statement issued by Health Minister Veena George said that cases have been charged against 12 institutions for manufacturing and distributing cosmetic products which do not conform to the quality guidelines prescribed by the Cosmetics Rules 2020. Many of these firms did not have the required licence either for manufacturing the products.
Samples for analysis
The Drugs Control officials have taken 59 samples from the seized products and sent them to the laboratories for analysis. The cosmetic products seized included lipsticks, face creams, baby powder, baby soap and baby oil.
The Minister said that stringent action would be taken against those selling spurious products and that the lab test results were awaited.
The phases 1 and 2 of Operation Soundarya had found that several cosmetic products available in the market did not subscribe to quality norms and that these contained chemicals at levels which were harmful to humans.
It had been found during the initial raids that many face creams and lipsticks contained high levels of mercury, which could, through regular use of the product, lead to damage to internal organs.
The Drugs Control department has cautioned that people using cosmetics ensure that the products they were using were produced by a reputed manufacturer, with proper labelling information, including an ingredient list and address of the manufacturer, so that quality was assured. Any complaints regarding substandard cosmetic products may be conveyed to the Drugs Control department through the toll-free number 1800 4253 182.
