Here is another issue that could have far reaching consequences as it involves young consumers.
From: http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/tag/blogshops/
Posts Tagged ‘blogshops’
Beware of ‘bust-boosting’ cookies
Monday, January 24th, 2011“Breast-enhancing” F-cup cookies, which contain plant hormones, might be harmful to consumers. (Screencap from http://www.f-cup-cookies.com)
Three 16-year-old girls fell ill after consuming made-in-Japan “breast-enhancement” cookies ordered from an online shop, reported The Straits Times.
One of the trio, Abigail Chua, first came across the shop. Soon, each of the three ordered two boxes of these “F-cup cookies”, which they ate for two weeks in place of their usual main meals, as directed by the seller, in the belief they could also gain the side benefit of weight loss.
However, all the girls got were gastric pains and diarrhoea. They have been treated and have since recovered from the ordeal.
Abigail, who recently received her O-level results and is waiting to enter a polytechnic, told ST, “I read online that the cookies would increase my bust size by at least one cup. They are not too expensive and also taste quite good, so I thought there was no harm in trying them.”
The cookies were found to contain pueraria mirifica, a plant-based oestrogen commonly found in bust-enhancement creams sold here.
A spokesman for the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority said the cookies were not cleared to be sold in Singapore as too little is known about whether pueraria mirifica is safe to be used in food.
ST understands from Abigail and her friends that the cookies were ordered from a local blogshop, which also sells Japanese “slimming” pills and “bust-enhancement” chewing gum.
The paper did a check over the Internet and discovered at least 40 such blogshops selling the cookies in raspberry, chocolate and soya milk flavours at between S$56 and S$60 for a two-week supply of 30 cookies. They tout the cookies a s a “fast, effective and tasty” way to bigger breasts. Sales of the cookies are believed to be very good.
Five blogshop owners ST spoke to claimed to have sold 40 to 50 boxes a month to new customers, with another 20 boxes bought by returning patrons.
They said their biggest buyers are teenagers who discover the products from Taiwanese beauty shows and online forums.
Blogshop owner Evie Tan, 19, whose stock comes from Hong Kong, told ST, “We know it’s not cleared for sale here, but what’s the harm? It’s just a cookie.”
She has eaten them too, and said that although they did not fulfill the promise of an F-cup chest, her breasts are now fuller and firmer. “There’s nothing wrong with me,” she added.
Doctors, however, expressed their concerns over the effect these plant-hormone cookies can have on girls going through puberty.
Plastic surgeon Andrew Khoo of the Aesthetic & Reconstructive Centre said that, in theory, the cookies could work, as stimulation of the breast tissue by oestrogen would enlarge the part.
But he also warned, “It has been documented that quite a number of breast cancers are oestrogen-receptor positive, which means they are hormone-triggered tumours. It’s not worth taking the risk of continually stimulating one’s breast tissue by ingesting plant hormones.”
Child psychiatrist Brian Yeo added that teens turn to cookies so that their parents would not suspect that they are attempting to enhance their breasts.
“The perception a cookie projects is that it is painless, looks safe and is a herbal product.”
He cautioned teens against eating them, “If they contain actual hormones, they may affect a teenager’s pubertal development. There are no quick fixes to problems in a normal growing process.”
Last October, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) mounted a crackdown on illegal prescription drug and counterfeit product peddlers online.
In July last year, the HSA worked with SingPost to study the contents of suspicious parcels containing health products entering Singapore. They made an initial find that as much as one third of the products purchased online and shipped here contained dangerous adulterants.
These are usually products that cannot be bought here and could have erroneous dosage recommendations.
The most commonly-purchased products online are slimming pills and drugs used to treat sexual disorders such as erectile dysfunction.
The HSA said that consumers might have been lured into buying the products because of the social stigma associated with the problems that makes them shy to approach doctors.
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