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Cosmetics safety storm brewing, or hadn't you heard?

Lately, what you put onto your body has been of great interest to other people. In this case, we’re talking about cosmetics.

Or hadn’t you heard? There is a huge controversy over the safety of cosmetics ingredients, but so far it’s been largely unseen, and that might be because there’s less below the surface than some think. In recent years, a consumer group has raised complaints about product safety and what it sees as the Food and Drug Administration’s inadequate response. The industry has vigorously responded with “Like heck!” or words to that effect, and said the group’s accusations are bogus. FDA, the agency with regulatory power over cosmetics in the U.S., appears to still be thinking about what it will ultimately do.

Cosmetics include lipstick, makeup, perfume, nail polish, skin moisturizers, shampoos, toothpastes, hair colors and deodorants. The federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act defines cosmetics (as many of us would) as “articles intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on, introduced into, or otherwise applied to the human body...for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance.” Not included, interestingly enough, is soap. Cosmetics products are not pre-approved by FDA for their safety or anything else before hitting the market, except for color additives they may contain. The law places on cosmetics companies the legal responsibility to assure that their products are safe and are labeled in accordance with FDA regulations.

Meanwhile, a September 2007 meeting on international cooperation on cosmetics regulation was held in Brussels. It was aimed at making international cosmetics marketing easier by increasing the consistency of regulatory requirements of different nations. The meeting was between government officials and industry trade groups from around the world, and it yielded a list of six topics on which further cooperation will be attempted: Good Manufacturing Practices; Ingredients labeling; Nanotechnology; Market surveillance; Authorized substances; and Animal testing and alternative methods.

The cosmetics industry likes the idea of standardization in these areas, as it will help their products move around the world, made in one place but sold elsewhere.
 
Francine Lamoriello, of the trade group Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association, hopes these international efforts start modestly, though, and says industry hopes any such efforts are “in the context of each country’s regulatory system.” In other words, they quite sensibly don’t want to see the adoption of detailed, firm standards for worldwide application. They prefer standards and principles that each country can use to guide its own regulatory measures. Those measures might not be mandatory regulations, but simply guidance documents, she notes.

The advocacy organization, Environmental Working Group, was quite irritated that it and groups like it were kept out of the Brussels meeting. EWG said FDA is not doing its job in protecting the public, and that safety should be a bigger priority than working on international harmonization. They wrote FDA a letter claiming that there are many cosmetics products sold in the U.S. that violate the industry’s own safety standards or contain substances that are banned from use in cosmetics in other countries (though they are not banned here).

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