London/New York: More than 20 banned skin-bleaching products containing mercury are available for purchase on third-party marketplaces run by Amazon, Temu and TikTok Shop in several countries, despite decades of efforts by health advocates and regulators to prevent their sale, a Reuters review of publicly available information found.
Regulators, companies and multinational entities have for years tried to coordinate efforts to take these products off shelves and websites. More than 150 nations are parties to the 2013 Minamata Convention that banned the manufacture, import or sale of mercury-containing products, which according to the World Health Organization can damage the kidneys, brain and nervous system.
