Consumer Group Finds Carcinogen in Organic Products
A study commissioned by the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) to analyze popular personal care and household products has detected the presence of a known carcinogen in almost half the items inspected.
The OCA utilized a third-party laboratory to test dozens of shampoos, soaps, body washes/gels, moisturizers, deodorants, sunscreens, and household cleansers labeled as “organic” or “natural” on the packaging. Several of the items were marketed as bath products for use on babies and children.
Using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, the lab reviewed samples of 100 products offered by various companies and found 47 of them contained 1,4-Dioxane, a cancer-causing substance that’s a by-product of a manufacturing process designed to make harsh chemicals feel softer.
According to results published by the OCA, the concentration of Dioxane contained in the samples analyzed ranged from 0 to more than 97 parts per million. The product in the study containing the highest concentration of Dioxane (97.1 pg/g) was Citrus Magic 100% Natural Dish Liquid.
Ethoxylation, the process which produces 1,4-Dioxane, is prohibited in items certified by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) as organic. None of the study products displaying the USDA label contained the carcinogen.
While other reports have already heightened consumer awareness about potentially dangerous chemicals in common household items, this is one of the first to focus exclusively on non-food products labeled organic or natural.
Some organic advocates are calling the natural and organic descriptions on Dioxane-containing products deceitful and asking consumers to boycott the brands, which include well-known names like Alba, Method, Nature’s Gate and NutriBiotic.
If you’d like to learn more about government standards for organic products marketed in the United States, you can visit the USDA Organic Certification web site.
Source: Organic Consumers Association News
Related Links: NCI – Cancer and the Environment; LA Times; safecosmetics.org; Mayo Clinic; Organic Trade Association
Related Podcast: Interview with Ronnie Cummins over 1,4 Dioxane from NaturalNews.com
Technorati Tags: David Steinman; environmental health; contaminants; product safety; environmental oncology; cancer prevention; green programs; cancer advocacy
Print This
|
|
No Comments »
No comments yet.
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
Leave a comment
Browse All Categories: Next article: BioCAT Beamline Clearly Images Collagen Molecules
Previous article: BBC to Broadcast Brain Surgery Done with 65-Dollar Drill
