Angela Onwuzoo
A German multinational company, Beiersdorf, which manufactures the NIVEA Black & White Invisible Roll-on deodorant, has denied selling the recalled product in Nigeria.
The company disclosed this in a statement issued on Saturday in response to a recent safety alert by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control regarding the saftety, sale and distribution of the product.
Beiersdorf clarified that NIVEA Black & White Invisible Roll-On Deodorant with Batch number 93529610, had been discontinued since 2022 and was not sold or advertised in Nigeria.
PUNCH Healthwise reported NAFDAC’s alert and warning against the use of the body deodorant on Thursday.
The agency, in a statement, said the product had been recalled by European authorities because it allegedly contains harmful chemicals prohibited for use in cosmetics products.
The dangerous chemical is called 2-(4-tert-Butylbenzyl propionaldehyde (BMHCA) according to NAFDAC.
This roll-on is part of the Nivea Black & White Invisible series, which is specifically designed to address concerns about deodorant stains on clothing.
The series is marketed as a “no stains” deodorant line, suitable for all-day protection without the worry of white marks on dark clothes or yellow stains on light ones.
According to NAFDAC, the product is flagged by the European Union’s Rapid Alert System for Dangerous Non-Food Products (RAPEX) in Brussels.
Reacting, Beiersdorf, in a statement said the products had been out of circulation since 2022, and so not in Nigeria or any part of the world.
The European legislation publicly prohibited the use of ingredient 2-(4-tert-Butylbenzyl propionaldehyde (LilialTM) in cosmetic products in March 2022.
The cosmetic multinational company said production of the NIVEA Black & White Invisible Roll-on deodorant was discontinued in February 2022 “before the BMHCA ban and is fully compliant with the EU cosmetic regulations.”
The statement partly read, “Based on current European legislation, the use of ingredient 2-(4-tert-Butylbenzyl propionaldehyde (LilialTM) in cosmetic products has been banned from the European markets as of March 1, 2022.
“We wish to assure our esteemed customers that the Batch No. 93529610 in question has not been marketed in Nigeria and thus never recalled by Beiersdorf, the owner of NIVEA brand, as the legal manufacturer. The batch in question expired in January 2022 and was hence at the time fully compliant with the then valid European cosmetic regulation”.
The company affirmed its commitment to meeting global safety standards and ensured that its products undergo strict quality checks to meet regulatory requirements.
“Our entire NIVEA portfolio has been reformulated to exclude Lilial well ahead of the EU regulation that came into effect,” the company said. “The NIVEA BLACK & WHITE Invisible Roll-on deodorant has been Lilial-free since 2020, including in Nigeria,” it said.
It added that it was also collaborating with NAFDAC to ensure adequate regulation, and pledged to ensure that Nigerian consumers are protected and informed.
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