The public is urged to notify the Health Ministry on sub-standard cosmetics, especially those sold online.

Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (photo) said this would help facilitate action to be taken by the Pharmaceutical Enforcement Division if it was suspected the products were not registered or the labels or registration numbers were changed without authorisation.

"Even if the information cannot be verified, if it is channelled to us, it will be very helpful for action to be taken,” he said during the Question-and-Answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.

The minister was replying to a question from Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir (PH- Johor Bahru) who wanted to know steps taken by the ministry to curb the sale of sub-standard cosmetics on e-commerce platforms.

Dzulkefly added that based on statistics from 2018 until today, 34,787 unregistered health products and cosmetics without notification with an estimated value of RM63.1 million had been seized.

The seizures included RM6.2 million worth of health products and cosmetics that did not meet regulations, which were sold online. The figure is until March this year.

Individuals or companies peddling such products can be prosecuted under the Sale of Drugs Act 1952.

- Bernama