Product Recall at Mercury Drug Stores: LUCIDA DS
Just today, there was a memo to all Mercury Drug Stores to return all stocks of the following to the head office in Libis:
Lucida-DS 500 mg Glutathione
Lucida-DS Grapeseed Oil Extract
Reason: RECALLED BY SUPPLIER.
As most people know, Lucida-DS is being used as whitening agent, especially by Filipinos.
Glutathione is known for its antioxidant effect. But since users have noticed their skin tone lightening as a side effect, glutathione has then been known as a commercial whitening agent.
Lucida-DS has the advantage of being available in 500 mg glutathione per capsule. Compared to other brands, such as the popular MET, which are available in 250 mg glutathione per capsule. A daily dose of 500-1000mg is used to whiten the skin. But for antioxidant effect, 500mg is enough per day. So with Lucida-DS, you need a capsule a day… with MET, you need 2 capsules a day. Lucida-DS costs PhP 49.75 per capsule and MET costs PhP 38.75 per capsule. Apparently, due to its price advantage, it has become very popular.
Btw, Lucida and MET are the 2 brands carried at Mercury Drug Stores. They’re BFAD registered. Lucida is a product of the USA and MET is a product of Japan.
Anyway, few customers have reported having some rashes upon using Lucida. This prompted a consultation and then Lucida was of course assayed.
Lo and behold. Assay says that Lucida-DS contains only 4.4 mg of glutathione. What a whopping difference to its 500 mg label claim!
So all the glutathione products available on the market were assayed. Most of them contain less than 10% of the label claim!
Only one product holds true to its claim… and that is MET.
Assay of MET shows that it contains 257 mg of glutathione… 7 mg over its label claim.
Anyway, I just pity those who’ve been buying Lucida-DS by bulk thinking that it will make their skin whiter…
Kasi naman ang mga Pinay, mahilig magpaputi.
Di na lang makuntento sa kung anong binigay sa atin ni God.
Tsk tsk.
Ako kasi, di ako mahilig dyan sa mga whitening chorva na yan… Why? I love my skin color. Kahit hindi ako maputi, I’m comfortable in my own skin.
Besides, why would I want to be whiter? Eh ang mga Caucasians nga they’re getting skin cancer just to have a skin tone such as ours.
Haay.
Kawawa talaga.
Ang daya naman kasi ng Lucida-DS. Siguro yung first few batches nila, 500 mg talaga content ng glutathione… Just so they could be approved by FDA, BFAD, etc. Tapos the next batches of Lucida-DS that they manufactured are already substandard.
Oh well…
Sabi ng Lucida-DS, bad publicity daw to c/o MET… Hmm. What do you think?
27 Comments
Lyn nayle
hayz anu ba to lucida na naman pinag tatalonan???but iniwie…kahit pinalabas na fake ang lucida eh guzzto ko parin ito i try to be sure kung anu ang totoo coz i think di naman talaga fake itobakit ba kasi kailangan pa mag siraan hayz naku….okey…..buy the waymeron na ulit di watsons nakabili na nga me i tatry ko talaga i wish effective sakin toxaka mas maganda na xa ngayon w/ ROSEHIPS na xa kaya talagang mas effective xa…im taking 8 2x a day w/ vit c i hve some pimple kasi sana mawala xa!;-)
Jean Monique Sanchez
Wow! Thanks for posting your side here! :DLet's see what happens. La ba talaga sya effect sis?
Biancz Calderon
Well sabihin mo sa "tita" mo manloloko sya. Ang hirap na nga ng buhay nanloloko pa sya sa kapwa pinoy. Personally, im a victim of Lucida-DS scam! Ang laki-laking worth na ng 1,500 a month for an ordinary pinoy like me. Super tipid ako sa food, nagbabaon lang ako para maka save kahit konte pambili ng Lucida. For how many months, naloko ako. Kaya pala super walang effect talaga. Dapat i refund ng tita mo yung money namin!!!
Jean Monique Sanchez
Onga eh. Pag may nilabas na something bad, war na talaga ito. Pero it's good that people will be aware din bout the truth behind everything. ;)I think din naman na it was Met who was behind everything… Hehe.
Jean Monique Sanchez
Yeah… Good news that it's back on the market. Personally, glutathione is okay to take as an antioxidant. Pero di pampaputi. Kasi naman, Filipinas take it to get whiter skin! Grabe… Tapos pag di pumuti, magrereklamo. Haha.Really, what Filipinas should learn is how to love their own skin color!Yeah. Dapat magsunblock na lang. 😀
yukari galindez
madaming proof that met has something to do with it. pero hindi na ata ilalabas ni tita because ayaw nya naman syempre manira. kaso for sure pag may nilabas sya. walang tigil na war na talaga. =c ang nakakaasar lang dun years na kami sa market kung peke man or kulang ang mg ng gluta. bakit now lang may naggagaganyan kung kelan asa top na product namin? Grabe namang kainggitan yan. And um hindi po pera habol namin just to let all of you know. we dont need money. we are very health conscious bakit namin gagawin yung sinasabing panloloko pangsscam. Kung kami buong angkan namin friends and etc. pinapagtake namin nyan=c huhu people dont get it.
yukari galindez
yup and lucida-ds /vaniderm is not a drug its a food supplement kaya it causes no harm. di pa ata nilalabas pero ang may mali ata is PIPAC . because merong procedure na di nila napeperfect pa kaya pala sa adamson nag-papa assay sila tita. And hindi hinold ng head ng mercury ang stocks kami po. Its for their safety din kasi. So ayun now its back on the market. Alam ko every pharmacy sari-sariling check ok naman. 500mg like whats written on the sticker/label. So ayun.Yah saka hiyangan lang talaga. Tama ka Glutathione is an anti-oxidant side effect lang talaga ang whitening. Mga filipino kasi,kala nila magic na once they take it maputi na sila. Kelangan din sabayan ng sunblock and lotions and stuffs.You know sunblock alone can make people white.
Jean Monique Sanchez
I know… Depende rin kasi yan sa taong nagtatake eh. Merong mga taong "hiyang" sa ganong product.In the medical world kasi, glutathione is really an antioxidant. Aksidente lang na nadiscover that it can lighten the skin as well.It has no harmful effects on the body. Wala sya talagang side effects.Those people who got rashes from taking glutathione capsules… they got it from the binders & excipients (the other ingredients apart from the glutathione itself) used by pharmaceutical companies.So yeah… sana lumabas na ang katotohanan. 🙂 As of now kasi, wala pa ring balita.But you know, assays are really reliable eh. They determine the percentage content of a drug. It's used to determine whether a drug is fake, substandard, etc. If a laboratory says that Lucida-DS contains less than 500mg, then Lucida is really in trouble. If they say 500mg ang content nila, dapat close to 500mg talaga ang lalabas sa assay. 🙂
yukari galindez
Just watch nalang and see what will happen next.Lucida-ds and Vaniderm are really effective.Wala silang nilolokong tao. Kung meron man bakit lola ka nag-tatake,bakit yung buong angkan namin? Kung pera pera lang ,eh di naman namin kelangan nang money.Lalabas din ang truth sana your not judging.I dont want to spoil everything pero talaga lalabas din kung sino ang nandaya at sino ang nabiktima at sino ang mkhang pera.i'm not saying this because im endorsing vaniderm.
Jean Monique Sanchez
Sembreak?! Ahahaha. Sure! 😀 Kita kits!
KIKAY KATITAY
yeap talagang i wont 😀 parang gusto ko ng bumalik dyan sa sembreak!! :)) save, save! =))
Jean Monique Sanchez
Yes naman! I'm so happy that you're very much welcome in his family. Bihira ang ganyan… Don't let him go! :DHm… Maybe I'll blog it some other time. Hehe. Have so many things on my mind pa kasi eh. But surely, I will. :DInform me agad kung kelan ka balik ah… Gimik ulit tayo. Hehe. Libutin natin ang Manila!
KIKAY KATITAY
uy talaga??? 😀 i-blog mo naman mga experiences mo dun! :Dhehehe 😀 di ko pa lam 😀 pero definitely talagang babalik ako! 😀 gusto ko nga this December 😀 hahahaha. hmm.. he & his ate asked the same question, too! :))
Jean Monique Sanchez
Ayon, super dami kong natutunan ko sa Mercury. Hehe.Hope maapply ko lahat sa aking future subjects ang natutunan ko dun. 😛 Ang sipag ko kasi magbasa ng mga product information at mga pharmacy books dun sa Mercury eh. Di naman kasi mahirap ang gawain ko dun. :PKelan ka balik sa Manila? Hehehe.
KIKAY KATITAY
Miss you more, Moe! :Dah talaga? kumusta naman??? how was it? kumusta experience??? 😀
Jean Monique Sanchez
Ayon, I'm out of Mercury na… My internship ended last June 2. :PWala na updates regarding Lucida products eh. They're just waiting for a call from the supplier. 😀 Anyway, konti lang naman stock non. Mga ilang bottles lang. Hehehe.Yeah, wag ka na lang magmarket. Katakot. You don't know what's in there. :sMiss you Kate! 😀
KIKAY KATITAY
ahh.. okie okie =D pero nakuuu :-s ayoko pa rin mag-market kasi natatakot eh. baka may mangyari sa clients etc :-s. ung classmate ng friend ko nag-take ng ganyan (don't know what brand) tinubuan ng zits! O_o uh-oh! ganun. kala ko pwede durugin tapos kinda i-mix ulit! :)) weeeh! :)) xD sana i-pull out nalang diba kc ung stockroom ng mga pharmacies at least pwede pa nila gamitin for other meds. =/
Jean Monique Sanchez
Yup. Di na sya ibebenta… nasa stockroom lang.They can't change the content of those batches na. Sa next batches na nila ayusin. At sana maayos nga nila. :)Wala pang proof na it's MET's fault. They're building a case siguro. Ang weird nga lang kasi American product to eh. Mabenta nga to sa States eh. I wonder what went wrong sa mga andito sa Pilipinas.Lucida-DS yung brand. :PAnyway, ang mga capsules kasi, they're made from gelatin diba? Eh gelatin has pork as one of it's components. So hindi yung content ang may pork content kundi yung capsule mismo. :sUng mga tablets, di na kailangan ng tatak halal. Hehe. Ung mga gumagamit lang ng gelatin capsules ang di pwede sa Muslims. :)Anyway, wag ka na magmarket ng gluta pills. 😛 And if ever you do, make sure they're BFAD registered. Hirap na… Dami fakers dyan. :s
KIKAY KATITAY
ganun.. so panu yan di nabebenta? sana i-pull out nalang tapos ayusin na nila ung content, gawin talagang full 500mg. dba? may proof na ba na it's met's fault? saka anu comment nila dun sa American doc na nag-testify na kulang nga ang content ng lucida? update us ha! :Dteka pala, share ko lang, i have a friend na reseller ng mga gluta pills, she told me na i-market ko raw dito ung gluta nya sa mga Muslim friends ko kasi certified "halal" daw. halal??? isang malaking holler un! bakit, ang mga paracetamol ba dapat lagyan ng tatak-halal para lang mainom ng mga Muslim??! holllleeeer!!! may sangkap bang meat products ang mga yan?! hay naku…. it's too much! kahit anong imbento sasabihin/gagawin para lang makabenta. what brand is that pala? 😀 hehe.
Jean Monique Sanchez
Tsk tsk.So pag maitim ka, pangit ka na? Ganon?!Hmmm…Anyway, update lang. Di pala muna isasauli lahat sa supplier.Pero di na ibebenta.Aayusin muna ng supplier ang pangalan ng lucida-ds… Ipapatest ulit nila.Matindi kasi ang conviction nila na this bad publicity is all MET's fault.
KIKAY KATITAY
agree w/ this one. there's even this commercial radio here advertising a glutha soap tapos ung dialog "…kasi kasalan ang maging pangit diba". like duh!! this is how God made us and what's pangit dun?! pffttt…
Jean Monique Sanchez
Yup… Hindi mataas ang bioavailability ng oral glutathione. Tsk tsk. So walang kwenta lang talaga. Haha.Yun nga eh… Way back in history, the whites have been superior and that was the mentality instilled in each and every Filipino.Kaya nga ayun. I agree. Kakainis ang mga commercials na ganon… Bakit di na lang nila ipakita na kahit anong kulay ng tao (basta makinis!) ay maganda!Color isn't the problem… yung "texture" or yung general well-being ng skin ang importante. Diba?If one is maitim pero super kinis ng skin… healthy-looking… eh diba maganda din naman yun?One doesn't have to have white skin just to be beautiful.
Jean Monique Sanchez
Yeah… Ewan ko ba. Masyadong addict sa whitening products ang mga Pinay!
Jean Monique Sanchez
Onga eh… Diba kasi una syang inexpose sa Rated K ni Korina. :(Ayon… simula nga nung lumabas yon, konti lang talaga bumibili. Malamang di nila napanood.Kahit MET, di na masyado mabili. :(Galing ng mga media investigators. Hehe.Dapat talaga regular ang assay ng mga products… lalo na yung patok sa consumers. Tsk tsk.
Rizza Ritchelle Sol
naa-associate kasi nila ang maputi sa maganda.. haay.. kaya nakakaasar din na maraming commercials and stuff na nag-instill at patuloy pang nag-iinstill ng ganung mentallity.. bili naman ng bili ang mga tao.. haay.. nakakalungkot.. naging kaugnay na ng pag-iisip na superior ang mga maputi which we can trace back to history.. haay.. hehe.. sorry, i can't stop myself from writing this..anyway, sabi sa biopharm.. if i remember correctly ang double dose ng oral glutathione ay 2% absorbed lang..
KIKAY KATITAY
mega agree! =) ung iba naman maputi na nga, nagte-take pa rin! 😮 pero mabuti na rin diba na this case was brought up, na-enlighten ang mga consumers. =)
JeDoInKs HeHe
WAT! tlga pinaparecall nah… sa wakas… its about tym naman!Cmula nung lumabas ung news sobrang d n tlga nagalaw ung Lucida nmn sa mercury…dati regular nmin ung nirerepack… wawa nmn ang ibng consumers!Filing ko may fault din BFAD, dpat regular clang ngkakaroon ng analysis sa mga products nila! TV patrol pa ang nkaalam… thx to media!