Ministry of Food and Drug Safety Releases Results of Testing 1,080 Products
High Non-Compliance Rates Found in Hair and Nail Products
It has been found that more than 2 out of every 10 overseas direct-purchase cosmetics products bought by Korean consumers do not meet domestic safety standards.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the 18th that it had tested 1,080 overseas direct-purchase cosmetics products, and 21.3% (230 products) were found to be non-compliant.
The Ministry purchased and tested products from major online platforms frequently used by Korean consumers, such as Aliexpress, Amazon, Naver Store, Shein, Coupang, Kosmic, Alibaba, and 11st. The selection included product categories that failed inspections last year, products with high order volumes, and top-ranked popular items.
As a result, the non-compliance rate was highest for hair products at 38.3% (69 cases), followed by nail products at 33.9% (61 cases), eye makeup products at 17.2% (62 cases), and color makeup products at 10.6% (38 cases). Among nail products, nail removers had the highest non-compliance rate, with 31 out of 42 tested products (73.8%) failing to meet standards. Among hair products, hair fibers had a non-compliance rate of 57.1%, with 12 out of 21 tested products failing.
The most frequently exceeded standards in non-compliant products were methylisothiazolinone (75 cases, 32.6%), methanol (45 cases, 19.6%), total aerobic bacterial count (36 cases, 15.7%), CMIT/MIT (22 cases, 9.6%), nickel (16 cases, 7.0%), and antimony (14 cases, 6.1%). In hair products, formaldehyde was detected at levels up to 50 times higher than the domestic usage limit (2,000μg/g or less), and in color makeup products, lead was detected at up to 22 times the domestic usage limit (20μg/g or less).
Regarding the country of manufacture for non-compliant products, China accounted for 223 cases (97%), followed by the United States with 7 cases (3%). By sales platform, Aliexpress accounted for 218 cases (95%), Amazon for 8 cases (4%), Shein for 3 cases (1%), and Alibaba for 1 case (0.4%).
Additionally, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the Korea Customs Service, and the Korea Consumer Agency jointly conducted collaborative testing on 91 overseas direct-purchase color and eye makeup products, and 3 products were found to exceed standards for heavy metals such as lead, nickel, arsenic, and antimony.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety requested the Korea Customs Service to withhold customs clearance for 233 non-compliant products to prevent their import and sale in Korea. It also asked the Korea Communications Standards Commission to block access to online sales sites and posted information such as product names, photos, and non-compliance details on its website to inform domestic consumers. The Korea Consumer Agency plans to share information on non-compliant products with overseas online platforms and request that sales of these products be blocked.
The Ministry stated, "If you experience abnormal symptoms such as redness, swelling, or itching while using overseas direct-purchase cosmetics, consult a specialist and do not use the product on wounded areas." It also advised, "Unlike officially imported products, these may not have Korean labeling or go through safety verification procedures, so they may contain ingredients that are banned or restricted in Korea. Please exercise special caution when using them."
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