The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) said on Wednesday it had found dangerous and banned chemicals in hundreds of cosmetic products sold across Europe.

The Helsinki-based agency inspected nearly 4,500 cosmetic products in 13 European countries and found that six percent of products – or 285 products – contained substances banned due to their adverse health effects.

The chemicals were found in products “from a variety of sellers and across price ranges” during checks between November 2023 and April 2024, the agency said in a statement.

Products containing dangerous chemicals included eyeliners, lip liners, conditioners and hair masks.

The substances found are banned by the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants as well as European law and exposure to them may reduce fertility and increase cancer risks, the agencies said.

According to ECHA, the inspections were carried out mainly by checking the list of ingredients of the products, and the agency noted that the control measure “can be easily used also by consumers”.

After the inspections, “enforcement authorities took steps to remove non-compliant products from the market,” ECHA said.

The countries where checks were carried out were Austria, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Romania and Sweden .

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