HONG KONG, May 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- L'Occitane International S.A. (the "Company") has noted recent media reports regarding excessive levels of lead found during routine testing prior to import by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of PRC, ("AQSIQ") in a batch of its "Almond Delicious Paste" products. This batch was never available for sale in China and was subsequently destroyed.
The Company wishes to advise that it does not add lead to any of its products, but that lead exists naturally in white clay, which is an ingredient used in producing "Almond Delicious Paste" products.
The Company wishes to further advise that "Almond Delicious Paste" is a product applied on the body and rinsed off and is never intended to be ingested or inhaled. If properly used, the product is not dangerous to human health. Even if accidentally ingested, the quantity of lead would be significantly lower than the daily level authorized by the World Health Organization for food products.
We received notification on 7 December 2012 that AQSIQ had carried out routine quality controls on a shipment of "Almond Delicious Paste" and that the levels of lead in certain of the products were in the range of 0.043 mg/g to 0.053 mg/g, exceeding the Chinese authorized level of 0.040mg/g. We have since ascertained that our supplier of natural white clay had recently changed its sourcing without informing us and without providing proper analytical results. All stocks of "Almond Delicious Paste" using clay from this supplier have been withdrawn from sale on a worldwide basis. L'Occitane further wishes to state that "Almond Delicious Paste" is the only product in the L'Occitane range with such a concentration of this specific ingredient, and that the levels of lead found in the China shipment are within legal limits in the USA and European Union.
L'Occitane is committed to the highest quality standards and to strictly respecting regulations in all 90 countries where it is present, and is deploying all means possible to ensure that similar situations do not occur.
For further enquiries, please contact:
iPR Ogilvy LTD.
Callis Lau / Charis Yau / Janis Lai / Andrea Leung
Tel: (852) 2136 6952/ 2136 6183/ 3920 7646/ 3920 7684
Fax: (852) 3170 6606
Email: loccitane@iprogilvy.com
