The Ministery of Food and Drug Safety said on the 27th that it had uncovered 95 instances of improper advertising related to cosmetics made in the shape of foods such as donuts, macarons and jelly, which could lead consumers to ingest them.
According to the Ministery of Food and Drug Safety that day, the latest inspection was conducted with advice from the "cosmetics advertising advisory public-private council," which includes consumer groups. The Cosmetics Act prohibits the sale and manufacture of "cosmetics that imitate the form, smell, color, size, container and packaging of food and may be misused as food, including ingestion."
The detected types were as follows: ▲ human body cleansing cosmetic soap (68 cases, 72%) ▲ bathing bath products (22 cases, 23%) ▲ human body cleansing body cleanser (2 cases, 2%) ▲ color cosmetic lip balm (1 case, 1%) ▲ basic cosmetic hand cream (1 case, 1%) ▲ basic cosmetic body lotion (1 case, 1%). Products shaped like cupcakes, macarons, donuts, candy, rice cakes, jelly and fruit were identified as posing a risk that consumers could mistake them for food and ingest them.
The Ministery of Food and Drug Safety asked bodies including the Korea Communications Standards Commission to block 95 posts with improper advertising found in this inspection. Companies that advertised or sold the cosmetics will be inspected by the competent regional Ministery of Food and Drug Safety offices and local governments.
Based on the inspection results, authorities plan to impose administrative measures on the violating companies and to recall and discard the products to prevent them from being distributed on the market. They also plan corrective orders and other actions to prevent the same violations from recurring.
The Ministery of Food and Drug Safety said, "Cosmetics should be used for their intended purpose," and noted, "If cosmetics are ingested, vomiting and abdominal pain may occur, and in severe cases there is a risk of physical disability, so they should be kept out of the reach of infants and children."