China's Ministry of Health announced  Tuesday that about one quarter of the cosmetics used in China's beauty saloons failed to reach national standards.

Checks were carried out in the past several months, covering 89beauty saloons in nine provinces and municipalities including Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Heilongjiang, Fujian, Sichuan, Shandong, Guangdong and Jiangsu.

The ministry said 188 kinds of cosmetic products out of a totalof 745 examined were found to have faults with product logos, labels or directions.

Problems included exaggeration of product effects, past expiry date or no indication of manufacturer, the ministry said.

During the checks, the ministry found that 16 percent of the cosmetic treatments used to remove freckles had quality problems. Some of the products contained excessive hydrargyrum and bacteria,the ministry said.

To curb the inflow of faulty cosmetic products to the market, the ministry has asked health administrations at various levels tofocus on supervision of cosmetic product manufacturers and increase punishment for illegal selling of shoddy cosmetics.
 
(Xinhua News Agency August 6, 2003)