KIGALI, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Rwandan authorities have seized skin bleaching products and other illegal products in a joint operation conducted in different parts of the country, the Rwanda Investigation Bureau said Friday.

The operation seeks to enforce the law against skin bleaching products which are illegal under the ministerial order determining the list of cosmetics prohibited in Rwanda, said Jean Marie Twagirayezu, head of investigations department of the investigation bureau, in Kigali, capital city of Rwanda.

Other impounded products include expired foodstuffs, Twagirayezu told a media briefing. The seized products valued at over 46,000 U.S. dollars in total, he said.

Rwandan Ministry of Health last year blacklisted 1,343 skin bleaching products, mostly imported containing high levels of hydroquinone which it said puts users at the risk of suffering skin cancer.

A joint operation by Rwandan authorities last November has led to the seizure of more than 5,000 assorted substandard bleaching products from beauty shops in different parts of the country, such as body oils, lotions, and toilet soaps.