| schema:text
| - Clarification regarding social media posts about CALIN baby soap!
Subscribe to our WhatsApp Channel
A series of posts have been shared on social media for some time stating that CALIN baby soap is harmful to the skin of babies, contains inferior ingredients and has caused damage to the baby’s skin including red blisters and spots.
Many people were curious about this and we decided to clarify the fact be contacting the relevant partied and the report is below.
Social Media Posts:
It was circulated in social media that a newspaper reported that Calin Baby soap is a type of soap that is more caustic and more harmful than hand soaps, using inferior ingredients for fragrance and color, and is sold with the aim of obtaining large amounts of money.
The notes further states that the consumer affairs authority said that red blisters and spots were observed in a large number of babies who used this type of soap, which was the main reason for the raid.
Also in this regard, there is a case under case number 46557/24 in Maligakanda court in Colombo and below is such a note which shows that the company that manufactures Calin soap has admitted the fault.
Below are some other similar posts.
Meanwhile, a social media post containing a newspaper article is being shared stating that according to the laboratory test done by the consumer affairs authority regarding the TFM value of the products having the batch number CBAPE002, manufactured and distributed by Delma Lanka (Pvt.) company, it is confirmed to have no TFM value, and that the company has admitted the fault without hesitation. The article further stated to be careful when buying and using Calin soap.
Many of our Fact crescendo readers asked whether this is a true incident and based on those requests, we contacted the relevant authorities and took steps to clarify the facts.
Explainer :
We came across an announcement in a Lankadeepa newspaper advertisement that the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) has issued a public warning against buying Calin baby soap manufactured by Delma Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd.
It can be seen that this notice has been issued due to a problem regarding the TFM content of one particular batch of Calin baby soap (Batch No. CBAPE 002).
Before delving further into this, let’s take a look at what TFM is all about.
TFM
TFM (Total Fatty Matter) helps measure the quality of soap. The fatty substances in soaps are usually derived from ingredients such as palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid and sodium oleate. Soaps with higher amounts of TFM are considered better quality with improved cleaning properties. It also has more moisturizing and nourishing properties. Baby soap in particular should have a high TFM value to ensure gentleness and protection for sensitive skin. You can refer to more information here.
According to the standard (SLS 547:2009 SPECIFICATION FOR BABY SOAP) given by the Sri Lanka Standards Institute, the TFM value must be at least 78% in a test conducted under ISO 685 conditions.
Consumer Affairs Authority
We contacted the top management of that authority to inquire about this.
The said authority stated that based on a complaint received to the consumer affairs authority, the soap of the Clain baby soap batch (CBAPE 002) which was released to the market was tested.
It has been confirmed in the laboratory test conducted by the Institute of Industrial Technology (ITI) that the TFM percentage of Calin baby soap is lower than the TFM standard of 78% and is 63%. It is also confirmed that the company has admitted the fault to the complaint flied by the consumer authority in the Maligakanda court.
According to the consumer affairs authority, as the actual TFM value is 63% although it is indicated in the cover as 78%, the company false under the act of, misleading the consumer as per section 30 of the Consumer Act.
They further stated that due to a wrong interpretation, other competing companies are spreading false information regarding that.
They state that the posts claiming, “The main reason for this raid is that there are too many caustic soaps in the Sunday markets, which are harmful to baby skin, and they are sold with fragrances and colors using inferior ingredients that are harmful to skin, and red blisters and spots appeared on a large number of babies who used this type of soap” are false. They emphasize that they did not announce such a statement and that the laboratory test did not report that children were infected by using this soap or that this type of soap is produced using inferior ingredients.
They also point out that at present the company has obtained the Sri Lanka standard ISO certificate for baby soap under this brand, and that one of the three certified baby soaps in Sri Lanka is Calin baby soap.
However, it was not mandatory to take the SLS certificate for baby soap, but with the recent controversy the Consumer affairs authority has made it compulsory to obtain the SLS certificate. They point out that this will raise the standards of baby soaps sold in the country and they will also expand their testing criteria to test other chemical constituents in soap beyond TFM content to further protect consumers.
On checking the Sri Lanka Standards Institute Website, we also found that the SLS 547 status certification for Calin Baby Soap has been issued on 26th of September 2024.
Delma Lanka Pvt Ltd which manufactures Calin Baby Soap
A senior officer of the company’s marketing department mentioned during our inquiry that after producing soap from a certain category, the company conducts a quality check before sale, and in the baby soap category where the issue has been raised, the TFM value was 79.1% according to their tests.
But during the inspection by the consumer affairs authority the TFM value of the CBAPE002 category, the value was reported to be 63% and the said cause was filed by the Consumer authority.
Also, the following picture shows the research report obtained by the Calin institute from the Sri Lankan standard institute when issuing Calin baby soap to the market in the same category on June 3rd this year.
He pointed out that the soap of that category had been tested through the Institute of Industrial Technology (ITI) on July 5th and the laboratory reports state a TFM value of 86.3%.
He also stated that as the court case will possibly drag further, they did not go to debate and that the decision given before the honorable court was accepted as the consumer authority has said that they would only have to pay a fine of Rs. 10000 of they found guilty.
However, the representative of the Delma company has pointed out that it was possible to win this case based on the laboratory reports they had.
Though it was not mandatory to obtain the SLS certificate, even before this issue was raised, they have submitted to the procedure to obtain the SLS certification. However, currently there are about 16 types of baby soap in the market, out of which only 3 types of soap have received SLS certification, including Calin baby soap.
Also, he states that the posts claiming that the company has banned Calin soap by distributing soap are false and that they have already taken legal actions against the people providing false information and that the police investigations are also underway.
Here are some of the posts made by them on the official Facebook page regarding Calin Baby soap, informing the community about this, and here is a mainstream media news.
If the percentage of TFM is less than 78%?
If the Total Fatty Matter (TFM) of baby soap is considered to be less than 78%, the soap may dry out the baby’s delicate skin. In general, baby soap should be formulated with a moisture balance to ensure they are gentle and moisturizing.
If it is less than the prescribed percentage, it can cause various skin problems in children. Lack of moisture can cause the skin to become wrinkled or rough and dry.
Babies have very sensitive skin, and using excessively harsh soap can cause redness, itching and rashes.
To prevent this, baby soaps are usually formulated with emollients and lotions to keep the skin soft and hydrated, and high in moisture. Baby soap are regulated to ensure a minimum percentage of TMF to protect baby skin from such problems. You can refer more information here.
Join us to learn more about our investigative findings.Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Google News | TikTok
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)