How to Become an Ingredient Detective!
Source: Organic & Natural Enterprise Group Pty. Ltd., www.onegrp.com, 2004.

‘Have you ever bought a product that you were assured was natural, only to find that you couldn’t pronounce half of the ingredients on the label? Would you like to learn more about “semi-natural” and “derived from” ingredients than the brochure tells you?

There is a source of information that comes from the ingredient manufacturer that is called a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS). MSDSs are a summary of important information on chemical substances regarding product information, hazard identification, first aid measures, exposure limits and precautions when using the ingredient.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) requires an MSDS be prepared for chemicals that are hazardous according to the criteria described in the HCS.

A good website to start researching the chemicals used in skin care and other products is www.hazard.com/msds. This takes you to the SIRI (Safety Information Resources Inc.) MSDS website. You are given three search options:

1. Search by the manufacturer, which in most cases you probably won’t know.
2. Search their database by entering the ingredient name.
3. Additionally, you can search another database for chemical toxicity data not found in the MSDS section.

For example, if we use the database search (second option above) to look for information on phenoxyethanol, which is used as a preservative in many so-called “natural” skin care products we see five different MSDSs on file.

A sample of information found on this ingredient included: Hazards Identification.

EMERGENCY OVERVIEW
WARNING! Harmful if swallowed. Causes skin irritation. May cause central nervous system depression. May cause kidney damage. May cause respiratory and digestive tract irritation.
Target Organs: Kidneys, central nervous system

POTENTIAL HEALTH EFFECTS
Skin Contact: Severe irritation or burns.
Eye Contact: Severe irritation or burns
Ingestion: May cause gastrointestinal irritation with nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. May cause central nervous system depression, characterised by excitement, followed by headache, diszziness, drowsiness, and nausea. Advanced stages may cause collapse, unconsciousness, coma and possible death due to respiratory failure. May cause kidney failure. May be harmful if swallowed. Lesions may appear in the brain, lungs, liver, meninges and heart. A little scary don’t you think?

ANIMAL TESTING DATA
Lethal Dose 50 (LD50) indicates the quantity of the chemical necessary to kill 50% of the animal test subjects and is measured in units per kilogram of the animal’s body weight.
Oral, mouse: LD50 – 933 mg/kg;
Oral, rat: LD50 – 1260 mg/kg;
Skin, rabbit: LD50 – 5ml/kg;
Skin, rat: LD50 – 14422 mg/kg.

By arming yourself with independent information about the many toxic ingredients found in today’s skin and personal care products, you can make an informed decision to protect the health of you and your family.’

Source: www.onegroup.com.

In New Zealand, the Government’s Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) monitors the use of hazardous substances under the regulations of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Act 1996. (Refer to www.ermanz.govt.nz ). According to Sue Kedgely, Green Party Spokesperson, this legislation is totally inadequate for cosmetic products either imported or produced in New Zealand. For some time she has been ‘calling for all cosmetic products to be properly labelled and registered, following safety concerns being raised overseas about the chemical make-up of some cosmetic products and hair dyes.

In 2004, ‘a Green Party survey of 120 cosmetics commonly available in pharmacies and supermarkets has shown the presence of parabens in 81 percent of them. Parabens have been detected in human breast tissue and linked in overseas studies to breast cancer in women. A European Commission scientific committee had previously raised concerns over the safety of some hair dyes.

“Whatever we put on our skin finds its way into our body, yet there are no regulations governing the 20 thousand substances used in cosmetics,” said Sue Kedgley. “Cosmetics and shampoos are applied directly to the skin, and many people wear cosmetic preparations all year round.

“It is vital that consumers can be sure that there are no chemicals that accumulate in their bodies that could be harmful to human health. We know that cosmetics contain ingredients that are classed as industrial chemicals.”

Ms Kegley said it was encouraging that ERMZ was planning, at long last, to develop a generic cosmetic standard, but said it was proposing a weak regime which would not offer the protection or information consumers needed.

“We need an electronic register of all cosmetic products that is accessible to the public, and a requirement that all ingredients in cosmetics are declared on a label,” Ms Kegley said.

Source: www.greens.co.nz/searchdocs/PR7556.html

Until we are fully protected by safety legislation, it would pay us to check independently the ingredients in our food, cosmetic, and home care products. Refer to www.hazard.com/msds. Also Google search New Zealand websites under ‘organic cosmetics and skincare’ to find a rapidly growing range of high quality, ‘truly natural’ products available to us here!

Other useful websites – search the website by article name:
• Cancer Prevention Coalition website. Articles include:
- “Cosmetics and Personal Care Products”
- “Endocrine (Hormonal) Disruptors in Cosmetics and Toiletries”
- “Hazardous Contaminants of Mass-Produced Cosmetics”.

• Health Reports UK. Articles include:
- “Hair Coloring Products Linked to Lymphatic Cancer”
- “Before Using That Shampoo, Read the Label”

• Environmental Working Group. Articles include:
- “Not Too Pretty”
- “Virtual Drugstore”
- “Beauty Secrets”
- “FDA Warns Cosmetics Industry to Follow Law on Untested Ingredients”

• World Wildlife Fund. Article includes:
- “Towards a Toxics-free Future”.