Some products from AliExpress, Temu, Qoo10 found to contain harmful substances

Some of the cosmetics and children's water toys sold on three overseas e-commerce retail platforms have been found to contain harmful substances far exceeding the permitted safety levels, a state-run consumer organization said Friday. In its examination of 88 products sold on Chinese e-commerce retail platforms -- PDD Holdings' Temu and Alibaba Group's AliExpress -- and Singapore-based Qoo10, the Korea Consumer Agency (KCA) found 27 products, or 31 percent, failed to meet the country's safety standards, the KCA said in a statement. Seven out of 40 cosmetics products turned out to contain harmful substances, such as tar, lead and cancer-causing chrome. Eleven out of 28 water toys for children carried toxic substances like phthalate plasticizer, heavy metals and preservatives, it said. In particular, phthalate plasticizer as much as 295 times higher than permitted levels and cadmium 3.2 times higher than standard levels were found in rubber rings sold by Temu, while lead 65 times higher than allowable level s was found in a 40-color eye shadow palette sold by AliExpress. Phthalate-based plasticizers carry the risk of causing infertility and could irritate the eyes and skin. Nine out of 10 auto bicycle helmets sold by AliExpress and Qoo10 didn't satisfy the country's shock absorption standards, the statement said. AliExpress and Temu have stopped selling the products containing toxic substances under their voluntary agreements with the Fair Trade Commission (FTC). The KCA is an agency under the antitrust regulator. Qoo10 also halted the sale of its hazardous products at the recommendation of the KCA. Last month, the FTC signed agreements with AliExpress and Temu to prevent them selling harmful products and better protect customers. Under the voluntary agreements, the two e-commerce companies will carry out safety checks on their products based on data and the results of monitoring conducted by the South Korean government and other entities, and halt the distribution and sale of hazardous items. The number of AliExpress users in South Korea more than doubled to 8.87 million as of April from 3.36 million in 2022, with that of Temu users here also jumping to 8.29 million, according to government data. Source: Yonhap News Agency