Comrade, there's a cow in my face cream..

Despite stringent testing in Europe, China seems to be banning several cosmetic products from leading European brand manufacturers as they may contain ingredients that cause Mad Cow disease.

The UK Times Online reports:

Authorities in Beijing raided shops and beauty salons, confiscating imported cosmetics, including products sold under the Nivea, Chanel, L'Oréal and Shiseido brands. China is a growing market for cosmetics products, accounting for € million (£14 million) of European Union exports.

L'Oréal said that four of its product lines were affected by the ban. "It is puzzling", said a spokeswoman. "All of our products are safe, but we are cooperating." The French company said that 70 per cent of its products were unaffected because they were made locally.