Tighten management and handling of cosmetics of unknown origin

Recently, the trade of fake, poor quality cosmetics of unknown origin and origin has been taking place in many cosmetic stores on the market. The use of cosmetics that do not guarantee quality seriously affects the health of consumers.

Authorities inspect goods trading activities in Hung Yen city.

In June 2024, the provincial market management force coordinated with the provincial police to inspect the trading activities of goods in Hung Yen city. Through the inspection, the authorities discovered that a goods store on Dien Bien I Street was selling the following goods: 38 boxes of Berina brand hair dye; 30 bottles of RICE Milk brand facial cleanser; 30 bottles of Whitening Oil Control brand facial cleanser. The owner of the store could not present any invoices or documents proving the origin of the goods.

The packaging and label of the goods show the origin of Thailand. The store has been administratively fined and all the violating goods have been confiscated for handling according to regulations.

Most recently, on May 31, 2025, Market Management Team No. 1 coordinated with Team 2, Economic Police Department (Provincial Police) to conduct a surprise inspection of the business location of V.DMC Trading and Service Joint Stock Company located at Nguyen Thien Thuat Street, Minh Khai Ward (Hung Yen City).

Here, the inspection team discovered that Mr. Doan Huu Viet, a permanent resident of Phan Sao Nam commune (Phu Cu), was trading in goods of unknown origin.

Specifically, 46,850 units of products including hair dye, shampoo, conditioner... purchased by Mr. Doan Huu Viet for business purposes did not have invoices or documents proving their origin; the origin and source of the goods could not be identified on the product labels; there were no accompanying documents on the manufacturer's declaration of ingredients and product declaration. The inspection team has temporarily detained all of the above goods and is continuing to investigate and clarify the violations for handling according to the provisions of law.

Although every year, the provincial authorities have detected and handled violations in the production and trading of goods of unknown origin, especially cosmetics, this situation has not decreased, affecting the rights of consumers.

Observations of some cosmetic stores and counters in the province show that many types of cosmetics are of foreign origin such as: Facial cleanser, skin cream, skin and hair care products, perfumes... but do not have additional labels in Vietnamese as prescribed by law. Not to mention the quality, the lack of basic information in Vietnamese on the product makes it difficult for consumers to find information about the product such as: Uses, how to use, how to preserve, origin of goods, importer... In addition to direct sales, cosmetics of unknown origin are also sold on social networking sites. Through images, livestreams, cosmetics of unknown origin are labeled "hand-carried goods" with advertisements of "genuine goods, cheap prices" that appeal to consumers' psychology to deceive them.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich, a resident of Nhu Quynh town (Van Lam) shared: Last year, I bought some skin care cosmetics on Facebook after hearing them advertise that they were hand-carried from Japan. Seeing that the product they advertised was from a relatively famous Japanese brand and had a "reasonable" price, I trusted and ordered it. However, after receiving the product, I saw foreign words and could not find the production date or expiration date on the label. Seeing that, I had to throw it away and did not dare to use it because I was afraid it would harm my skin or even affect my health.

According to the law, imported goods into Vietnam whose labels do not show or do not show enough mandatory information in Vietnamese must have a supplementary label showing mandatory information in Vietnamese and keep the original label of the goods. The content written in Vietnamese must correspond to the content written on the original label. Selling and trading imported products without Vietnamese supplementary labels makes it impossible for consumers to find basic information about the product. The lack of information in Vietnamese makes imported products lack transparency and creates an opportunity for counterfeit, fake, and poor quality goods to take advantage of and deceive consumers. This causes economic damage, consumer health damage, and difficulties for authorities in market management and control...

Mai Nhung - Minh Hong

Source: https://baohungyen.vn/siet-chat-quan-ly-xu-ly-my-pham-khong-ro-nguon-goc-xuat-xu-3181817.html