Q&A with a scientist
Urvashi Rangan, Ph.D., senior scientist and policy analyst at Consumers Union, the publisher of this magazine, talks about
how the government could be doing a better job of protecting women's health.
Q What can be done to make cosmetic ingredients safer?
Because most cosmetic ingredients have never been publicly assessed for safety, in the end it's the consumer who is the guinea pig. It doesn't mean that everything out there is unsafe, but if you're rubbing something under your arms or putting it on your face or lips every day, that's enough exposure to hope it would have been tested for safety over the long haul. The Food and Drug Administration should require more chronic toxicity testing of ingredients in personal-care products and needs to create standards for that testing.
Q What's wrong with the way the industry regulates itself?
It's commendable that the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) panel looks at ingredient safety. But there is no independent oversight. The CIR is funded by an industry association. We would hope that a more independent body, like the government, would be requiring and overseeing the safety and efficacy of those ingredients. That's important in terms of being accountable to the public.
Q Will California's new law requiring companies to report unsafe ingredients make a difference?
California often sets the precedent.
But there's still the question of whether new formulas will be any safer. If the U.S. doesn't have any standard protocols for safety and efficacy testing, it's just a big leap into the unknown.
Q What can be done to make cosmetic ingredients safer?
Because most cosmetic ingredients have never been publicly assessed for safety, in the end it's the consumer who is the guinea pig. It doesn't mean that everything out there is unsafe, but if you're rubbing something under your arms or putting it on your face or lips every day, that's enough exposure to hope it would have been tested for safety over the long haul. The Food and Drug Administration should require more chronic toxicity testing of ingredients in personal-care products and needs to create standards for that testing.
Q What's wrong with the way the industry regulates itself?
It's commendable that the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) panel looks at ingredient safety. But there is no independent oversight. The CIR is funded by an industry association. We would hope that a more independent body, like the government, would be requiring and overseeing the safety and efficacy of those ingredients. That's important in terms of being accountable to the public.
Q Will California's new law requiring companies to report unsafe ingredients make a difference?
California often sets the precedent.
But there's still the question of whether new formulas will be any safer. If the U.S. doesn't have any standard protocols for safety and efficacy testing, it's just a big leap into the unknown.
