The Medical Products Agency's lab is currently working on a comprehensive analysis of skin whitening products that will be published later this year.
- We have found mercury, for example.
It's very, very serious.
And the levels have been so high that the lab has had difficulty cleaning up afterwards, says investigator Elin-Maria Bergsten.
SVT discovers harmful substances
SVT Uppsala makes a random sample in two local stores that sell foreign goods.
We directly find several products from one of the brands that are on the Medical Products Agency's warning list of product names that have been shown to contain dangerous substances.
One of the products contains an ingredient that the authority specifically warns about - kojic acid.
At levels above 1 percent, the substance can cause troublesome allergic reactions.
Another cream contains triethanolamine (TEA) which can react with other ingredients and form nitrosamines, which can be carcinogenic.
"Tragic"
- It is tragic, these are products that contain dangerous substances, says Elmira Tavoosi, toxicologist at the Medical Products Agency.
However, she emphasizes that there are also skin whitening products that are not dangerous, but that it is difficult to distinguish because the entire contents are not always on the packaging.
Hear more in the clip.