Cosmetics Contaminated With Asbestos in Korea

South Korea media have reported that the Korean Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) has withdrawn several cosmetics and baby powder from the market under alleged contamination with asbestos.

Among the banned items are a face powder, a shading compact in two shades, a make up base and a face colour. The source of contamination would be a talcum powder imported from China by several distributors. Over 300 cosmetics companies, drug manufacturers, and baby powder companies are suspected to have purchased the tainted talc.

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EU Nanoparticle Legislation Should be Exported to US

“Small may well be beautiful but to protect public safety and prevent a consumer backlash the US should adopt European style rules on nanomaterials,” says Guy Montague-Jones of Cosmeticsdesign-europe.com.

In March the EU amended the Cosmetics Directive to implement stricter requirements for nanomaterials, including mandatory listing of nanomaterial ingredients used for certain purposes on cosmetic packaging and the requirement for manufacturers to inform the EU Commission six months prior to product launch if they intend on using nanomaterials in a formulation, Read more

EU Cosmetics Directive Strengthened

The EU Cosmetics Directive is being amended to implement stricter requirements for nanomaterials and CMRs (carcinogens, mutagens and reproductive toxicants). Environmental groups such as Friends of the Earth (FOE) have been calling for some time for nanomaterials to be listed on ingredients listings on packaging and this has finally become mandatory. A safety assessment procedure will also be established for all products containing nanomaterials. Manufacturers who add nanomaterials to cosmetic products must inform the EU Commission six months prior to launch and the Commission will then consult an expert committee. The EU Commission had previously contested that adequate legislation was in Read more

REACH: A Thorn in the side of the Chemical Industry?

Nicolas Garderes, a French attorney specialising in environmental and European law with the international law firm Denton Wilde Sapte, writes in GCI Magazine of the challenges faced by manufacturers who are now required to meet the terms of the EU chemicals regulation called REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical Substances). Nicolas suggests that whilst larger companies have made investments in compliance with REACH for the most part, small and mid-size companies are struggling to deal with the regulatory issues involved. 

Nicolas also points out that the US “is clearly one of the countries most Read more

Toxic Shampoo Scare in Middle East

According to Cosmetics Design Europe  Saudi and Dubai health authorities have issued warnings after incidences of toxicity in a variety of shampoos sold to consumers. The Dubai Municipality has banned 17 imported shampoos contaminated with the carcinogen 1,4-dioxane and The Saudi Food and Drug Authority has issued a warning over Rolana Baby Shampoo, which was found to be contaminated with the bacteria serratia maracescens. This has allegedly made 13 babies sick and resulted in the death of one child. The bacteria can cause urinary infections, meninjitus, toxemia and other health problems, particulary in infants.  

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FDA Fails to Protect Says Campaign for Safe Cosmetics

More than a year after the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics reported that popular brands of lipstick contain lead, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has still not released the results of its own testing of lead in lipstick, despite pressure from senators and repeated calls from health groups. 

New reports indicate that the beauty industry’s lead problems go further than lipstick. The Canadian government announced last week it found lead in children’s face paint. The results were publicly announced immediately as Read more

MEP Calls for Greater Nanotech Regulation

Concerns about the impact of nanotechnology on our health and the environment are prompting calls for stricter regulation in the European Union. The European Parliament is assembling a draft report in relation to the regulation of nanomaterials. The report  suggests that

“nanomaterials…potentially present significant new risks due to their minute size, such as increased reactivity and mobility, possibly leading to increased toxicity in combination with unrestricted access to the human body… The current discussion about nanomaterials is characterised by many contradictions or even paradoxes, with disagreement and thus political
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Cosmetics Labelling Violations in Canada

Deciphering the ingredients list on a cosmetic product is never an easy task, especially when the manufacturers make a point of using ridiculously miniscule print. Some small products such as eye-shawdow, eye liner and lipstick do not even carry ingredients list because the product is not large enough to bear a long list of chemicals. When the cosmetic companies violate labelling laws it makes it even harder for the consumer to establish precisely what is lurking within their beauty products.

CanWest News Service recently published a story into widespread cosmetic labelling violations in Canada, using Health Canada inspection reports. At Read more

Europe Bans Two Chemicals From Cosmetics

The European Union has prohibited two chemicals from being used in cosmetic products, in a recent amendment to the European Cosmetics Directive. From November 5, 2009 companies are barred from using diethylene glycol (DEG) or phytonadione. This action has been taken following the discovery of high levels of DEG in some toothpaste products from other markets. Although a representative of the industry trade association, the Cosmetics, Toiletries and Perfumery Association (CTPA) suggested that reputable brands do not use DEG, trace levels are often present as an impurity in widely used ingredients such as glycerol.

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Personal Care Products Council: Resisting Regulation

The Personal Care Product’s Council (PCPC) was founded in 1894 (as the Cosmetics Toiletry and Fragrance Association or CTFA) and is the leading trade association for the personal care products industry, representing the companies with the most sales of personal care products in the U.S.¹ One of their stated aims is to protect “the freedom of the industry to compete in a fair and responsible marketplace”¹ The association also claim to be committed to ensuring that cosmetic products are safe for consumers, “accomplished by promoting voluntary industry self-regulation.”¹ Over the years the CTFA has strongly opposed attempts to overturn self-regulation and re-iterated the argument that cosmetics are safe, the industry’s voluntary Read more

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