Vietnam’s health authorities have requested the representative office of Japanese cosmetics company Kanebo Cosmetics to update the list of products subject to recall and publicize it. The Health Ministry’s Pharmaceutical Management Department made the request after the Japanese cosmetics company on June 4 announced a recall of 54 skin whitening products from all over Asia because of fears they could cause white patches and uneven coloring on the skin. Among the 54 products are two very well-known ones: Kanebo Blanshir Superior and White Deep. The cosmetics contain a whitening substance named 4HPB (4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butanone) which was developed and called Rhododenol by Kanebo, the company said in a press release on Thursday. There had been 39 complaints from customers in Japan who said they had developed white patches on their skin after using the products, a Kanebo spokeswoman said, adding that the company suspects a link between the condition and 4HPB.
Kanebo has marketed a total of 4.36 million products of this kind in Japan and the recall is aimed at recalling 450,000 products that have been sold to consumers. The recall will also be carried for 370,000 products that have been sold to other Asian countries and territories, including Vietnam. Accordingly, except for Japan, the recall will affect 10 Asian countries and territories, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam.