Congressman calls for action to strengthen cosmetic product regulation in US

US House Democrat Frank Pallone Junior has called on Congress to enact legislation to strengthen cosmetic product regulation in the country.

In December 2016, Pallone sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting information about imports of personal care products that arrive in the US each year.

The FDA responded revealed that 2.9 million lines of cosmetic products arrived in US ports in fiscal year 2016.

Of the total, only 9,871 received a physical examination by FDA inspectors, which is less than 1%. In addition, around 1,474 of the examined products had adverse findings.

The agency also revealed that of the 364 cosmetic imports that were sampled and subjected to laboratory testing last year, 73 resulted in adverse findings.

It also stated that cosmetic product imports doubled over the last ten years, with China's exports to the US increased by 79% over the last five years.

Pallone said: “The fact that less than 1% of cosmetics imported into this country are physically examined is startling, and should serve as a wake-up call to Congress to act.

“Congress must give the FDA the authority and resources necessary to ensure the safety of cosmetics and personal care products, whether they are produced domestically or abroad.”