Health authorities suspend the sale of Joëlle Ciocco cosmetics

The National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) announced on Wednesday to suspend the marketing of cosmetic products from the Joëlle Ciocco brand until compliance with regulations.

Following an inspection carried out in June 2022 at the production site of the Joëlle Ciocco brand in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine (Yvelines) as well as at the head office in Paris, the ANSM investigators noted “that the company Capital Joëlle Ciocco did not comply with the regulations for cosmetic products,” the agency explained.

Laboratory checks have also proven that “certain products prepared specifically for customers contained a corticosteroidbetamethasone, which is used in the composition of medicines and which can only be used within the framework of a medical prescription”, adds the ANSM in a press release.

Risks of long-term depigmentation and acne

Betamethasone is a corticosteroid that has anti-inflammatory properties. It can be prescribed to treat certain dermatological pathologies, such as eczema, but should not be applied to the face unless formally prescribed by a doctor. It can lead to undesirable effects, particularly to be feared in the event of prolonged use, such as a risk of thinning and fragility of the skin, an outbreak of acne or depigmentation.

“Consequently, we are suspending the manufacture, marketing, advertising, distribution and use of cosmetic products of the Joëlle Ciocco Paris brand”, of “cosmetic products prepared specifically by the company Capital Joëlle Ciocco”, as well as that “specifically prepared products containing betamethasone”, writes the ANSM.

The agency “asked the company to withdraw all of its products from sale”.

A rare decision

“The major sections of the regulations applicable to cosmetic products were not respected”, explains Dominique Labbé, deputy director of the ANSM inspection department, “therefore the decision to suspend until compliance was taken. “.

Compliance “is an achievable objective for the firm which can complete its shortcomings”, she underlines, specifying that the decision to suspend the sale of cosmetic products of a brand, “is not frequent”. “We have a few,” she explains.