latest news

Australia vitamin brand Swisse said on Monday that it has recalled two batches of its Beauty Skin Regeneration+ supplements sold in Australia after “detecting slightly elevated lead levels.” The company noted that the affected vitamin products never entered the Chinese market.

In a statement on Monday, Swisse said that Swisse Australia found that batches 144520 and 143217 had lead content slightly above the standard. Out of caution and its quality commitments, the company initiated a proactive recall, and the products were recalled within controlled Australian-market channels. 

Swisse said the affected batches existed only in Australia and were never imported into China. All products sold through official channels in China comply with relevant requirements of Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), and their safety and quality are not affected, the company said.

Chinese Customs on Saturday noted that Australia’s TGA had announced that two batches of “Swisse” brand “Beauty Skin Regeneration+” products were found to have lead levels exceeding the applicable standard limit, and the company would recall the affected products.

The products involved are product No. 01-141-20602, batches 144520 and 143217, with an expiry date of July 2028. 

Chinese authorities said that no affected products have been found to have entered China through general trade channels. The Customs reminded consumers to check any units they may hold that were obtained through cross-border e-commerce, personal carriage, or overseas purchasing, stop using the recalled products immediately, and follow updates from Australian regulators.

The TGA disclosure states that elemental impurities testing identified an out of specification result for lead in two packed batches of Swisse Beauty Skin Regeneration+ where lead levels exceeded the maximum oral Permitted Daily Exposure (PDE) of 5 micrograms per day by 0.24 micrograms based on the recommended adult daily dose of two capsules per day.

The excess lead exposure represents approximately 3-5% of ordinary dietary lead intake. In the worst-case scenario of continuous daily use, the modelled blood lead increment is approximately 0.2 micrograms/dL at most, which is neither measurable nor clinically meaningful in any population, including pregnant women.

Global Times