MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a stringent health alert against three skin-lightening creams, including one allegedly manufactured in Pakistan, after laboratory testing revealed dangerously high levels of toxic mercury and lead, making them entirely unsafe for human application.

An official FDA release ordered an immediate embargo on the purchase, sale, stocking, and distribution of the highlighted products. One of the prominent formulations, Goree Beauty Cream, is reportedly of Pakistani origin. Recently, Mumbai Police registered a criminal case against a shopkeeper in Chembur for illegally stocking and retailing Goree cream, violating the Central Government’s ban on imports from Pakistan. The other two products flagged as “Not of Standard Quality (NSQ)” are Face Fresh Gold (Beauty Cream & Beauty Serum) and Golden Star Beauty Cream.

Laboratory analysis confirmed that these cosmetics contained heavy metal concentrations far exceeding permissible parameters, which can precipitate irreversible damage to the skin, kidneys, and central nervous system upon prolonged exposure. Furthermore, the FDA noted that these illegally routed items lacked mandatory regulatory packaging details, such as the manufacturer’s name, address, batch numbers, and manufacturing or expiry dates. Distributors, wholesale networks, and e-commerce portals have been mandated to halt all transactions involving these brands and immediately initiate stock recalls.

FDA Commissioner Tukaram Munde stated that the alert comes amid an intensified statewide crackdown on substandard pharmaceuticals and cosmetic products. In June alone, enforcement wings raided 34 manufacturing hubs, seizing illicit supplies valued at ₹4.12 crore. Out of 787 product samples analyzed, 35 formulations—including specific sunscreens, kumkum, syrups, and shampoos—failed statutory tests for sterility or potency, leading to nine FIRs and two arrests. Notably, the hazardous profile of Goree products has triggered global sanctions; Medsafe New Zealand issued alerts in 2021, the Philippines FDA red-flagged the kits in 2025, and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Qatar permanently banned and extracted Goree products from its domestic markets due to high mercury risks.

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