Skin-care Products- keeping to claims?

Skin care products under the spotlight

BY NICOLA BOYES - 14/08/2010 Waikato Times

The Hamilton maker of a range of mother and baby care products says she has done everything she could to withdraw products containing a banned ingredient.

Mahu Mother and Baby Skin Care products are marketed as natural, NZ-made and the "safest choice" for you and your baby, but Consumer NZ found Mahu products on sale, including a baby lotion, that list a preservative called iodopropynyl butylcarbamate (IPBC).

IPBC is not allowed in moisturisers or any other "leave on" preparations for children under three years of age or anything used on the lips or large part of the body. In its pure form, it was classified by the Environmental Risk Management Authority (Erma) as having acute oral toxicity and inhalation toxicity. It was considered safe in some cosmetics such as shampoos and deodorants in low concentrations.

Mahu director Kathryn Fromont said Mahu had stopped using IPBC as soon as it was banned from use in skin creams, two years ago. She said Mahu sent a recall to all their stockists.

Consumer chief executive Sue Chetwin said the company should issue an immediate recall but Mrs Fromont said despite Consumer claiming the products had been found in Wellington it had not told her exactly where. "This is pretty devastating. They [Consumer NZ] are putting this information out there and it's not accurate."

Ms Chetwin said products sold as natural or organic needed to demonstrate they lived up to their claims.