Product Recall at Mercury Drug Stores: LUCIDA DS

Just today, there was a memo to all Mercury Drug Stores to return all stocks of the following to the head office in Libis:

Lucida-DS 500 mg Glutathione
Lucida-DS Grapeseed Oil Extract

Reason: RECALLED BY SUPPLIER.

As most people know, Lucida-DS is being used as whitening agent, especially by Filipinos.

Glutathione is known for its antioxidant effect. But since users have noticed their skin tone lightening as a side effect, glutathione has then been known as a commercial whitening agent.

Lucida-DS has the advantage of being available in 500 mg glutathione per capsule. Compared to other brands, such as the popular MET, which are available in 250 mg glutathione per capsule. A daily dose of 500-1000mg is used to whiten the skin. But for antioxidant effect, 500mg is enough per day. So with Lucida-DS, you need a capsule a day... with MET, you need 2 capsules a day. Lucida-DS costs PhP 49.75 per capsule and MET costs PhP 38.75 per capsule. Apparently, due to its price advantage, it has become very popular.

Btw, Lucida and MET are the 2 brands carried at Mercury Drug Stores. They're BFAD registered. Lucida is a product of the USA and MET is a product of Japan.

Anyway, few customers have reported having some rashes upon using Lucida. This prompted a consultation and then Lucida was of course assayed.

Lo and behold. Assay says that Lucida-DS contains only 4.4 mg of glutathione. What a whopping difference to its 500 mg label claim!

So all the glutathione products available on the market were assayed. Most of them contain less than 10% of the label claim!

Only one product holds true to its claim... and that is MET.

Assay of MET shows that it contains 257 mg of glutathione... 7 mg over its label claim.

Anyway, I just pity those who've been buying Lucida-DS by bulk thinking that it will make their skin whiter...

Kasi naman ang mga Pinay, mahilig magpaputi.

Di na lang makuntento sa kung anong binigay sa atin ni God.

Tsk tsk.

Ako kasi, di ako mahilig dyan sa mga whitening chorva na yan... Why? I love my skin color. Kahit hindi ako maputi, I'm comfortable in my own skin.

Besides, why would I want to be whiter? Eh ang mga Caucasians nga they're getting skin cancer just to have a skin tone such as ours.

Haay.

Kawawa talaga.

Ang daya naman kasi ng Lucida-DS. Siguro yung first few batches nila, 500 mg talaga content ng glutathione... Just so they could be approved by FDA, BFAD, etc. Tapos the next batches of Lucida-DS that they manufactured are already substandard.

Oh well...

Sabi ng Lucida-DS, bad publicity daw to c/o MET... Hmm. What do you think?