08.15.12
Media reports and analysis of a new research paper are distorting the real world safety and everyday use of the antibacterial ingredient triclosan based on faulty comparisons to overdosed test subjects, according to the American Cleaning Institute (ACI).
ACI expressed disappointment in the researchers’ publicity campaign – calling for unnecessary restrictions on the oft-tested ingredient – that cross the line into straight advocacy based on questionable conclusions in their paper (published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences).
“Antibacterial products containing the germ-killing ingredient triclosan remain safe and effective for everyday use,” said Richard Sedlak, ACI executive vice president, technical & international affairs.
“Triclosan is one of the most thoroughly studied and researched ingredients over the past 40 years. Extensive regulatory and scientific reviews of triclosan by the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as other regulatory bodies around the world, have found the uses of triclosan to be safe.”
For example, a 2011 review by the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety found that the “use of triclosan at a maximum concentration of 0.3% in toothpastes, hand soaps, body soaps/shower gels and deodorant sticksis considered safe.”
More info: www.fightgermsnow.com and www.cleaninginstitute.org/antibacterials.