Carcinogens Detected in Overseas Direct-Purchase Women's Underwear... Cosmetics Also Exceed Safety Limits

Seoul City Conducts Safety Inspections on 330 Overseas Direct Purchase Online Products
Arylamine Detected in Women's Panties Increasing Bladder Cancer Risk
14 Cosmetics Including Nail Products Exceed Domestic Standards... Cadmium Found in Enamelware

Carcinogenic 'arylamine' was detected in women's panties sold on the overseas direct purchase online platform Shein. Cosmetics such as nail products, lipsticks, and blushers, as well as enamelware, also showed products exceeding or not meeting domestic standards.

On the 18th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that, as a result of safety inspections on products from overseas online platforms conducted from June 11 to July 11, hazardous substances were detected in some items.

A total of 330 products were inspected, including 140 food containers, 89 cosmetics, 59 clothing items such as underwear, and 42 hygiene products sold on AliExpress, Temu, and Shein. The inspections were divided into two types: 'hazardous item selective inspection,' which tests only certain items to inspect many products, and 'full item inspection,' which tests all items specified in domestic standards. Among the 330 cases, 159 underwent hazardous item selective inspection, and 171 underwent full item inspection.

Inspection results of products exceeding domestic standards. [Data provided by Seoul City]

As a result of the inspection, arylamine, a carcinogen, was detected at 87.9 mg/kg in one women's panty sold on Shein, exceeding the domestic standard (30 mg/kg) by 2.9 times. Arylamine is a chemical dye used in clothing dyeing and is classified as a Group 1 human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) under the World Health Organization (WHO). In particular, arylamine compounds are known to increase the risk of bladder cancer, making its detection in underwear, which comes into direct contact with the skin, a serious issue.

Among cosmetics, 14 products were found to exceed or not meet domestic standards. In the case of lipsticks, Staphylococcus aureus was detected in two products sold on AliExpress and Shein. Blushers sold on AliExpress showed Staphylococcus aureus and total aerobic bacteria in two products. Not only were there issues with product ingredients, but two lipsticks, two blushers, and three foundations were found to have product content amounts deficient by at least 7% and up to 23% compared to the labeled quantity, indicating that the quantity was insufficient despite the low price.

For nail products, four items sold on AliExpress and Shein contained nickel at 974.2 μg/g, exceeding the domestic standard (10 μg/g) by up to 97.4 times, and dioxane at 167.8 μg/g, exceeding the domestic standard (100 μg/g) by 1.6 times. Nickel is a representative metal that causes allergic contact dermatitis and can induce allergic symptoms such as swelling, rash, and itching when in contact with the skin. Dioxane is a byproduct generated during the process of softening cosmetic ingredients and is classified as a Group 2B possible human carcinogen by the IARC under WHO. Exposure can irritate the respiratory tract and eye mucosa, and long-term exposure may cause liver and kidney toxicity or nervous system damage.

In the food container inspection, cadmium was detected exceeding the standard in one enamelware product, prompting additional inspections on 60 products of the same material. As a result, cadmium exceeding the domestic standard (0.07 mg/L) by up to 97.4 times and lead exceeding the domestic standard (0.8 mg/L) by up to 7 times were detected in five enamelware products sold on AliExpress and Temu.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to request the suspension of sales for 20 products that exceeded or did not meet domestic standards from related agencies such as the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and overseas online platform companies to block access to these products. Kim Tae-hee, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Citizen Health Bureau, stated, "Since carcinogens and possible carcinogens were detected in underwear, cosmetics, and food containers that come into direct contact with the skin, special caution is required when purchasing products. Seoul will continue to do its best to prevent consumer damage through ongoing safety inspections."