| Untested
Cosmetics May Soon Carry Warning Labels
Would you rethink purchasing
your next tube of lipstick or personal care product if it bore
a warning label stating its safety had not been determined?
This may become a reality if the FDA decides the ingredients
in the product haven't been adequately tested for safety.
Based on a study conducted by the Environmental Working Group,
some products that are under close scrutiny by the FDA include:
- Mascara, which can contain ingredients linked or potentially
linked to cancer
- Liquid hand soap, which may contain ingredients suspected of
raising the risk of breast and skin cancers
- Hair dye, which can contain coal tar, which has been linked
to bladder cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
- Important factors that companies often leave out of product
testing include the possibility the product may cause cancer
or birth defects
The FDA has maintained a hands-off approach to performing any
kinds of tests on cosmetics and toiletries prior to when they
reach the market shelves. An independent panel of experts appointed
by the cosmetic industry performs the only regulation that is
done.
Over the past 29 years, the panel of "experts" referred
to as the Cosmetic Ingredient Review has declared 694 ingredients
to be safe and only nine to be unsafe. The Environmental Working
Group disputed these findings by saying that the panel reviewed
only 11 percent of 10,500 ingredients recorded by the FDA.
The Miami Herald Herald March 31, 2005
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