韓國化妝品被查出重金屬超標

Beauty products from leading South Korean brands including Skinfood, 3CE and Etude House have been found to contain amounts of heavy metal exceeding the legal limit.

韓國知名品牌思親膚、3CE和伊蒂之屋等韓國主要化妝品品牌近日被查出重金屬含量超標。

Eyebrow pencils and liquid concealer, among others, from eight producers were found to contain excessive antimony – also known as kohl, a type of lustrous gray metalloid whose dust particles are suspected to cause cancer and liver and kidney damage if inhaled or absorbed, according to a recent test by South Korea's food and medicine safety authority.

根據韓國食品藥品安全檢測機構近期的一次檢測，八家制造商的眉筆和遮瑕膏等產品均含有過量的重金屬銻，銻粉也被叫做化妝墨、眼影粉，是一種亮灰色的金屬，其粉粒如果被人吸入或是吸收，疑似可以致癌，造成肝腎損傷。

Excessive and prolonged use of antimony may also cause skin irritation and dermatitis. But this metal is still widely found in cosmetics and dyeing products.

此外，過量並長期使用銻還可能引起皮膚刺激和皮炎。但此種金屬依然被廣泛應用於化妝品和染色產品中。

The South Korean watchdog noted 10.1 to 14.3 micrograms of antimony in a number of 1 gram samples it tested, prompting a mandated recall.

韓國監管機構在檢測到1克樣本中含有10.1到14.3微克的銻後要求產品召回。

Brands 3CE and Etude House all responded and have taken the relevant products off their shelves and will arrange refunds for customers who have already bought the products.

品牌3CE和伊蒂之屋都做出了迴應，將相關產品下架，並將爲已經購買產品的客戶安排退款。

Last Wednesday, Hong Kong Customs inspected 49 points of sale citywide and found none of the products were on sale.

上週三，香港海關在全港範圍內檢查了49個銷售點，發現所有的產品都沒有出售。

South Korean cosmetics now command an increasing market share across Asia, particularly in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

如今，韓國化妝品在亞洲市場的份額越來越大，尤其是在中國、香港和臺灣。

A spokesman for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in Seoul noted that the tests reflected how serious they took the supervision of production and sales and that consumers' confidence in South Korean products would remain unaffected.

韓國貿易、工業和能源部的一位發言人指出，這些測試反映出他們對生產和銷售的監督是多麼認真，消費者對韓國產品的信心不會受到影響。