Monday, December 16, 2013
After all these years,
Now the FDA is looking at the safety of two products used in antibacterial soaps.
The Food and Drug Administration announced on Monday that it was requiring manufacturers of antibacterial soaps to demonstrate that their products are safe for long-term use or reformulate them.Triclosan has been around since 1972 and triclocarban for longer than that so I have to say I am glad they didn't rush into anything here.
The agency said that some data suggested that long-term use of certain ingredients in the soap that give it the antimicrobial qualities — triclosan in liquid soaps and triclocarban in bar soaps — could pose health risks, such as bacterial resistance or hormonal effects. Some soaps labeled “deodorant” may also contain these ingredients.
Millions of Americans use these products, and agency officials said that accumulated scientific evidence and “concerns raised by health care and consumer groups” had prompted the drug agency to re-evaluate these products and whether their active ingredients are safe...
Scientists have raised concerns about triclosan for decades. Senator Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, who has pressed federal regulators to more closely control the substance, said on Monday in a statement that federal authorities “have acknowledged the potential for triclosan to interfere with the body’s thyroid hormone, which is important for brain development and function, particularly in children.” Other studies, he said, showed that it disrupted other hormone functions important for puberty and fertility.
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