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Operation Soundarya: Kerala's cosmetics drive, 2023 to 2026

Last checked 10 October 2026

Operation Soundarya. Status: State enforcement drive, four phases (ongoing).
Regulatory notice

Operation Soundarya is Kerala's enforcement drive against unsafe cosmetics; its lab results fed CDSCO's March and April 2025 alerts (Goree, Faiza, Sandal, Dabur Fem bleach, Blue Heaven lipstick, Mamaearth cream, Ahaglow face wash) and by Aug 2026 the state had seized Rs 9.64 lakh of stock and filed cases against sellers.

Classification
Regulatory notice or advisory
Decided by
Kerala State Drugs Control Department
Reference
State enforcement drive; results published through CDSCO's monthly NSQ alerts (Mar and Apr 2025) and ministerial statements
Latest action
12 August 2026
Last checked
10 October 2026
See the source Report a mistake

Photo: DSCF0910 Evening market scene shoppers browse a brightly lit stall of cosmetics and trinkets under the night sky.jpg by PattayaPatrol (CC BY-SA 4.0). All photo credits.

Primary government sourceTier 1: government primary source

CDSCO: Not of Standard Quality (NSQ) alerts, public portal (monthly lists from state and central labs)

Kerala State Drugs Control Department · State enforcement drive; results published through CDSCO's monthly NSQ alerts (Mar and Apr 2025) and ministerial statements

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Scope. A record here does not by itself mean a product or company is unsafe or banned today. Regulatory actions can apply to one batch, one formulation, one period or one state. Always check the linked government document for the current position, and tell us if something is out of date. How we label records.

Below: Blacklisted's explanationWe organise and explain what the document says. The document above is the authority.

Key facts

Started
2023, by the Kerala Drugs Control Department
Phase 3 (Feb 2025)
101 inspections, 59 samples, cases against 12 establishments
Lab results
Mercury failures in Goree, Faiza (cream and face wash), Sandal Beauty Cream, Dabur Fem Cream Bleach, Blue Heaven Get Matte lipstick, two imported lipsticks; lead in Lilium massage cream; microbial failures in two shampoos (CDSCO alert, Mar 2025)
Apr 2025 results
Mamaearth Vitamin C cream and Ahaglow face wash failed the mercury test; Alograce cream failed for lead
By Aug 2026
Four phases, Rs 9.64 lakh of cosmetics seized; Faiza and Goree reported at up to 20,000 ppm mercury against a 1 ppm limit

Kerala's drug control department began Operation Soundarya in 2023 to sample cosmetics from shops and online sellers and send them to the state drug-testing laboratory in Thiruvananthapuram. The results reached the public through two routes: statements by the state health minister, and CDSCO's monthly 'not of standard quality' alerts, which list every failed sample from state labs with the product, batch and reason.

The March 2025 alert carried the drive's biggest batch of findings. Goree Day & Night Beauty Cream, Faiza Beauty Cream, Faiza Whitening Face Wash and Sandal Beauty Cream, all Pakistan-made, failed the mercury test. So did Dabur Fem Cream Bleach batch BM1516, Blue Heaven's Get Matte lipstick and two imported lipsticks. Lilium Fruit Massage Cream failed for lead, and two shampoos failed microbial limits. The April 2025 alert added Mamaearth's Vitamin C Daily Glow cream and Torrent's Ahaglow face wash, both for mercury.

By Aug 2026 the department reported four completed phases, Rs 9.64 lakh of stock seized and legal action against sellers. The minister's statements described mercury at up to 20,000 ppm in Faiza and Goree creams against a limit of 1 ppm; those figures are from the state, not from a published lab certificate. The drive is the model for Maharashtra's 2026 action and for CDSCO's September 2026 alert.

What this means for you

Where the famous findings came from

Most of the named-brand mercury results in India's 2025 alerts came from this one state lab. That is why the same products appear on the CDSCO list and in Kerala's statements.

One batch, not the brand

A failed lab test names a batch number and the lab that tested it. It does not mean every pack of that product is affected. Check the batch on your pack against the one in the record.

Report what you find

CDSCO asks the public to report Indian-made cosmetics to the State Drugs Controller and imported ones to the Drugs Controller General of India at cosmetics@cdsco.nic.in. Keep the pack and the bill.

This is a record of official orders, not medical advice. Do not stop a prescribed medicine without asking your doctor or pharmacist.

Common questions

Are the products on the Kerala list banned?

Each result is a failed batch test. For unregistered imports such as Goree and Faiza that is enough to stop sale. For Indian brands such as Dabur or Mamaearth the finding concerns the batch tested; the record for each product says what happened next.

Official sources and primary records

Researched and written by The Blacklisted team
We are not doctors or pharmacists. Everything on this page comes from the documents listed above, which you can open and check. Last checked 10 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.