The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ) and the Ministry of Health claimed on Monday that SK-II skincare cosmetics do little harm to customers' physical health, reports The Beijing Times.

Proctor & Gamble (P&G)China announced Monday its SK-II skincare cosmetics will return to shelves soon in China. According to a report of China Central Television (CCTV), the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and China's Ministry of Health made a joint announcement that traces of the metallic chemicals chromium and neodymium, which are inevitably brought from the raw material, can produce little harm to physical health, if being used properly.[newsphoto]

The authorities said the banned substances neodymium and chromium found in the cosmetics comes from the raw materials themselves.

"We will carry on with our sales of SK-II products in China, but the first task facing us is to clarify the situation towards the customers," a Procter & Gamble (P&G) representative announced Monday.

The official announcement released jointly by the GAQSIQ and the Ministry of Health indicates the two heavy metals are likely to come from the raw materials due to flaws in the manufacturing process. P&G affirmed it does not add these elements as ingredients deliberately in any of their products.

There isn't a detailed international standard for cosmetic quality and safety, and it hasn't been proven that using SK-II products containing neodymium and chromium cause skin allergies or other illnesses.

"We will continue with our high-quality service for Chinese customers and keep trace levels of the metals in SK-II products," a P&G representative said.

Liu Ling, P&G Public Relations manager told the Beijing Times that even she only found out about the new statement from CCTV news yesterday evening. "P&G has now begun to discuss details of resuming sales of SK-II products, and is going to issue a formal announcement on October 24, 2006", Liu said.

As for exactly when the closed counters would once again be open for business, Liu said "the more quickly, the better" but didn't reveal a definite date.

P&G's losses have yet to be calculated and P&G has been dealing with the refunds based on its previous refund policy, according to Liu.

"I found out about it on the TV news," Weng Zhigang, general manager of Shanghai P&G Dongfang Ltd, P&G's biggest retailer on the mainland. "I haven't been told to re-open the SK-II counters, and the products pulled off the shelf earlier this month are in the depository."

An unnamed official from the administration said China's Regulations on Hygienic Standards for Cosmetics forbids cosmetics containing chromium and neodymium. However, the banned substances may exist in tiny amounts in finished products as the raw materials may contain minute amounts of the banned substances.

SK-II thus claimed the two heavy metals were not deliberately added but occurred naturally, and was able to renew sales in China.

The official also suggested it is necessary to set limits on banned substances in cosmetic products.

Late this September, Procter & Gamble Co. suspended sales of its SK-II products in China after authorities discovered chromium and neodymium, both banned substances, in its popular skin care products, prompting outbursts from consumers seeking refunds.