The Department of Trade and Industry reported that aside from the monitoring of the prices and supply of basic needs and prime commodities, its offices are also helping the Food and Drug Administration in checking alleged fake cosmetic products sold in the different parts of Central Luzon.
In compliance with a directive from DTI Undersecretary Ruth B. Castelo, monitoring teams from the DTI provincial offices of Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac and Zambaleswere mobilized in the first week of September 2020 to check two reported brands of keratine treatment and hair colorants which are allegedly being distributed and sold in the market despite not having the proper authorization and labeling.
The monitoring of the alleged fake products was conducted by DTI-3 personnel from August 28 to September 2, 2020 on major supermarkets, department stores and drug stores in the region. Based on the report of the monitoring teams in Central Luzon, teams from Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac and Zambales did not find the alleged brands of beauty products in more than 26 monitored establishments in the four provinces, while in Bulacan, the DTI monitoring team reported that they found only original products with the authentic packaging.
Under Republic Act No. 3720 or the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act of the Philippines, improperly labeled products are prohibited from being sold in the market. Likewise, products should have labels containing mandatory information such as the name of the manufacturer, the country of origin, ingredients of the products, allergen or safety information and date of expiration. According to the law, the labels should be legible, accurate and not misleading.
The DTI continues to assist DOH to check distributors and sellers of fake and unauthorized products allegedly proliferating in the market as some of these products were seized in the City of Manila recently.
