The Japan-based cosmetics company, Kanebo, said it continued to ship products that were blamed for skin blotches – a week after deciding to recall them. Kanebo’s parent company is Kao Brands.

The recall was decided at the end of June 2013, but wasn’t announced until the beginning of July, nearly a week later. The company continued to ship products after deciding to reomove them from shelves. It involved approximatley 4.75 million skin lightening products.

The recall affects Japan, Britain and 10 Asian territories — Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Fifty-four of Kanebo’s products were involved in the recall, and contained a substance called 4HPB, a synthetic version of a natural compound developed by the company.

Some consumers reported uneven colouring of their skin, which in some cases continued after they stopped using the products. Kanebo said they would pay all medical costs for these consumers.

As of August 25th, 2013, a total of 8,678 consumers in Japan had been confirmed to have blotches after using creams such as “Blanchir Superior”, with 65 people reported as having the trouble overseas, according to Kanebo.

The value of shares in the parent company Kao has fallen more than 15 percent since the recall was announced.