The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it would investigate if some brands of U.S.-made red lipsticks contain "surprisingly high levels of lead" according to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics' report.

The tests were conducted on 33 brands of lipstick in four cities and 22 of them were positive for lead. But the FDA set no standards for lead safety in cosmetics.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it would investigate if some brands of U.S.-made red lipsticks contain "surprisingly high levels of lead". (photo: photo file from Xinhua News Agency)

The organization says some brands of lipsticks examined contained a level of lead exceeding 0.1 parts per million -- the FDA's limit for lead in candy. The lead tests were conducted by an independent laboratory last month on red lipsticks bought in Minneapolis, Boston, San Francisco and Connecticut.

"We want the companies to immediately reformulate their products to get the lead out and ultimately, really we need to change the laws and force these companies to be accountable to women's health," Stacy Malkan of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics said.

The FDA said concerns about lead in lipstick have been raised occasionally in the print media and on the Internet.

"These concerns have not generally been supported by FDA's own analysis of products on the market. In the present case, we are looking into the specific details of the issues raised," said Stephanie Kwisnek, a spokeswoman at the FDA. "We will need to confirm the factual basis of these reports independently in order to determine what action, if any, may be needed to protect public health."

According to media reports, among the top brands testing positive for lead were:

L'Oreal Colour Riche "True Red" - 0.65 ppm

L'Oreal Colour Riche "Classic Wine" - 0.58 ppm

Cover Girl Incredifull Lipcolor "Maximum Red" - 0.56 ppm

Dior Addict "Positive Red" - 0.21 ppm

L'Oreal challenged any claims its products contain harmful ingredients, saying in an e-mail statement reported by the San Francisco Chronicle that its products have been thoroughly reviewed and tested by the company's toxicologists, clinicians, pharmacists and physicians and are in compliance with federal regulations.

Lead is a heavy metal that when ingested can cause adverse health effects in children such as behavioral problems and learning disabilities. Ingested in high amounts, it can cause seizures or death.

(Agencies via Xinhua News Agency October 14, 2007)