18 women have suffered serious kidney problems after using a Pakistan-based product called 'Goree Beauty Cream'. Lab tests found that the cream has 752 times more mercury than the legal limit. The Maharashtra FDA has now banned it, calling it unsafe.
This is a scary story that shows why you must think a hundred times before buying cosmetics online. 18 women are facing serious kidney problems after using a skin-whitening cream from Pakistan. They bought it from the e-commerce app 'Meesho' and some Instagram pages. This shocking incident was reported from Nagpur in Maharashtra.
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Nagpur doctors' investigation reveals the racket
Over the last two years, 18 women were admitted to different hospitals in Nagpur for kidney-related diseases. When doctors checked their case histories, they found a shocking connection. All these women had been using the same product, 'Goree Beauty Cream', for a long time to get fairer skin! The whole issue blew up after entrepreneur and health researcher Chirag Barjatya shared a post about it on the social media platform X.
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Mercury level 752 times over the legal limit!
Once the case became serious, the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seized samples of the cream and sent them for lab testing. The results were shocking. The cream contained a whopping 752 times more mercury than the legal limit, along with dangerous levels of lead. Mercury stops the production of melanin, which gives skin its colour. This makes the skin look temporarily whiter. But this isn't beauty, it's chemical damage! This toxic metal enters the body through the skin, slowly builds up in the kidneys, and causes organ failure.
Based on the lab reports, the Maharashtra FDA immediately banned the sale, distribution, and use of these products. It has also issued a health alert, declaring them as 'Not of Standard Quality' (NSQ). Here are the banned products: Goree Beauty Cream (from Pakistan), Face Fresh Gold (Beauty Cream and Beauty Serum), and Golden Star Beauty Cream. These creams completely violated the Cosmetics Act as they had no mandatory labels like batch number, manufacturing date, expiry date, or manufacturer's address.
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What do medical research studies say?
A research report published in the world-famous medical journal 'Kidney International' in 2024 confirms this danger. The report states that using fairness creams with mercury is causing a sharp rise in a disease called 'Membranous Nephropathy' (MN). This condition damages the kidney's filtering system, causing too much protein to leak into the urine. Long-term use can lead to complete kidney failure.
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How did it enter the Indian market despite a ban?
Currently, there are no official trade relations between India and Pakistan. The central government has completely banned imports from Pakistan. So, people are angry and asking how these Pakistani creams were being sold openly on a major e-commerce platform like 'Meesho' and on Instagram pages. The Mumbai Police have already filed a criminal case against a shop in Mumbai's Chembur area that was stocking these banned creams.
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History of international bans
This isn't the first time the 'Goree' brand has been banned. In 2021, New Zealand's drug regulatory agency, 'Medsafe', found mercury in the cream and issued a public warning to stop using it. In 2025, the Philippines FDA also released a public health advisory, pointing out the lack of safety in Goree Beauty Kit products.
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Meesho takes action; seizes products
After the FDA's warning and media reports, Meesho quickly removed these creams from its platform. The company issued a clarification, stating, 'Customer safety is our top priority, and we take such serious health complaints very seriously. We have removed the products from our marketplace.' Doctors are appealing to the public: Don't fall for the craze of getting fair skin quickly and use such unverified, chemical-filled creams available online. If you know anyone using such creams, tell them to throw them in the bin immediately and save a life.
