The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is set to intensify its efforts on the production of functional cosmetics products that could help boost the country’s economy this year.

In a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon interview Friday, FDA Director General Samuel Zacate said local manufacturers have the ability to produce quality cosmetics but these fail to reach other countries due to some challenges in the evaluation process.

“Most our cosmetics are purely importation because they (other nations) have a policy in their country to evaluate those claims. What are those? We call them qualifiers—skin whitening, skin rejuvenation. In the Philippines, we don’t have those,” he said.

Functional cosmetics combine aesthetic enhancement with skincare benefits, addressing specific skin concerns.

Zacate said clinical trials to prove such properties of cosmetics usually fall under the drugs category and are costly.

“Instead of ‘drug’ (category), you can enter the functional cosmetics (category). Lesser sample size and cheaper for the manufacturers so that we can export our locally-manufactured products of cosmetics,” he added.

In 2024, the FDA launched the Functional Pop Beauty (F-Pop) initiative to create new pathways in the regulation of functional cosmetics.

South Korea, China, and Japan have introduced delineations between general cosmetics and functional cosmetics, which provided a market registration pathway distinct from the general cosmetics category and drugs category.

Zacate said it can also be done in the Philippines to help local manufacturers register their products with ease, as mandated by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

“We have already talked with our Korean counterparts, they will capacitate the Philippines, particularly the evaluators (on) how to do the functional cosmetics and also the quasi trial, quasi drug policy,” he added.

Through the F-Pop Initiative, the FDA aims to make more innovative cosmetic products available to Filipino consumers.

It also aims to create a sound regulatory environment for globally-competitive cosmetics that supports the local and international cosmetic industries. (PNA)