The Safe Cosmetics Act 2011 was introduced in the US congress late last week to help address concerns regarding unsafe chemicals being used in cosmetics and personal care products.
With the previous Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act introduced in 1938, loopholes and more recent developments mean that the majority of chemicals currently used in the cosmetics industry have gone untested for safety.
The new act will see a number of changes, including all cosmetic ingredients requiring a safety assessment using a health-based standard. Additionally, cosmetic ingredients linked to cancer, birth defects and reproductive or developmental harm being phased out.
Products will be required to have a full disclosure of ingredients on their labels and websites and cosmetic manufacturing, packaging and distributing facilities will need to be registered. Businesses earning annual revenue less than $US2 million will be exempt from registration.
The growing number of reports of serious health problems arising from the use of dangerous chemicals in personal care products show a need to update our laws and protect men, women and children from harmful exposure," says Representative Jan Schakowsky.
Currently, manufacturers are not required to disclose all their ingredients on labels and FDA has no power to supervise the use of toxic chemicals in cosmetics. Americans are left in the dark about harmful mystery ingredients in personal care products; consumers deserve confidence that the products that they use will not hurt them."
