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L'Oreal, the French cosmetic giant and the world's largest cosmetics manufacturer, has been accused by US regulators of misleading claims in marketing its Lancome line of anti-aging products, according to a letter released Tuesday.

Addressed to the president of L'Oreal-owned Lancome USA, the letter by the Food and Drug Administration says that under US law, some Lancome products advertised online "are intended to affect the structure or any function of the human body, rendering them drugs."

The products under the scanner is the Genifique Youth Activating Concentrate which claims to boost "the activity of genes and stimulate the production of youth proteins," according to the letter, reported AFP.

Another product is the Genifique Repair Youth Activating Night Cream, which claims to boost "the activity of genes."

Lancome has to respond to the FDA warning within 15 days with specific steps it would taken to correct the violations, according to the letter dated Friday.

"We request that you take prompt action to correct all violations associated with your products, including the violations identified in this letter," wrote the FDA's Michael W. Roosevelt of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. 

"Failure to do so may result in enforcement action without further notice."