Two Korean brands suspend sale of products following SPF controversy
Two Korean beauty brands have suspended the sale of their sun protection factor (SPF)- related products.
Concern was raised after a sunscreen sold by a Korean beauty brand was allegedly found to have a lower SPF than what was advertised.
In a post, Ms Judit Racz, founder of cosmetic database INCIDecoder, said test results from two European labs revealed that the SPF in Purito's popular sunscreen, Centella Green Level Unscented Sun, was much lower than what was claimed.
While Purito and Dear, Klairs emphasised that their products are produced under South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety guidelines, they said they will suspend the sale of the affected products pending further test results.
NOT ALLOWED
In response to queries from The New Paper, a spokesman for the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) said the Purito Centella Green Level Unscented Sun and other Purito sunscreen products are not allowed to be sold here.
She said: "HSA has directed the e-commerce and website administrators to take down the affected product listings.
"Under the cosmetic product regulations, cosmetic products with misleading product labels are not allowed to be supplied. Any claim made has to be supported by the product's formulation and composition and verified by appropriate testing."
The HSA spokesman said three SPF- related Dear, Klairs products - Illuminating Supple Blemish Cream, Soft Airy UV Essence and Mid Day Blue UV Shield - are marketed in Singapore.
Local distributor Seras said it has stopped the sale of the three products and recalled them from shops.
The Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore told TNP it has not received feedback on the two brands in the past year.
Purito said in an updated statement on Dec 9 it has received many refund requests and will refund customers accordingly.
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