Please visit our parent sitewww.toxicfreecanada.ca
|
Home » Issues » Cosmetic IngredientsCosmetic IngredientsCosmetic ingredients to be labelled under new Health Canada regulations After years of waiting, the federal government formally published regulations Dec. 1, 2004 that will require mandatory ingredient labelling for all cosmetic products sold in Canada within two years.The new regulations, which call for full compliance by Nov. 18, 2006, will likely see cosmetic manufacturers phase in package labelling over the next 24 months. The regulations were introduced by Health Canada as amendments to the existing Cosmetic Regulations and will cover most products, such as lipstick, shampoo, fragrances, makeup and hair colouring. They will not cover products such as toothpaste and sunscreens, which are considered drug products, nor will they cover many natural health products. New Health Canada regulations will see labels on Canadian cosmetics similar to those on the UK-made product shown in the photo. In announcing the changes, Health Canada acknowledged that there had been hundreds of requests over the years to extend ingredient labelling to cosmetics, as well as numerous complaints from people who had experienced serious allergic reactions to undisclosed ingredients. The industry lobby group, the Canadian Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association (CCTFA) also noted that there had been a “growing demand for ingredient demand from both consumers and health care professionals.” The CCTFA supported the initiative, in part because it will result in more uniform labelling requirements for its international markets. Labour Environmental Alliance researcher Sean Griffin, co-author of LEAS’ CancerSmart Consumer Guide, said the labelling regulations “have been a long time in coming.” He added that LEAS and many other health and environmental organizations have repeatedly emphasized the need for full disclosure of ingredients, as part of the public’s right to know what chemicals they’re being exposed to. “We’d like to see the same disclosure requirements extended to all consumer cleaning products,” Griffin said. “We also believe there’s a need to provide a warnings on the label when a product contains a known or suspect carcinogen, as is done in California, for example.” Health Canada estimates that some 10,000 chemicals are used in the cosmetics industry, which has sales in Canada of over $5.3 billion annually. Many of those chemicals have not been tested for their human health effects, although some have and continue to be used despite potentially toxic effects. The new cosmetics labels will require some warnings for possible acute reactions, such as with hair colouring products containing coal tar derivatives. Consumers must be cautioned that the ingredient could cause skin reactions and advised to test it beforehand. Under the regulations, ingredients include “any substance that is one of the components of a cosmetic, including colouring agents, botanicals, fragrance and flavour.” All ingredients over one per cent are to be listed in descending order of percentage content, while those below one per cent can be listed in random order. Chemical ingredients will be identified using the International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients (INCI), a system developed by the cosmetics industry and already in use in the U.S., the European Union, Japan, and other countries. “This initiative will also harmonize our cosmetic labelling with many of our trading partners,” said Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh, in announcing the new regulations, which have been in discussion for several years. Still, many other jurisdictions have moved much farther ahead than Canada in that time, in labelling requirements, prior testing of ingredients and restrictions on ingredients that may be used. For example, independent testing two years ago in the EU found that dozens of cosmetic products contained phthalates, even though phthalates were not listed among the ingredients on the label. Since then, the EU has moved to ban phthalates, many of which are endocrine disruptors, from cosmetic products. New and UpdatedCleaners and ToxinsJanuary 28, 2010 FAQs June 5, 2009 CancerSmart 3.0 April 14, 2009 Alliance building wins change on pesticides April 2, 2009 Bisphenol A and right to know November 25, 2008 Support LEASMake a donation |
|
© Copyright Labour Environmental Society 2005 | |
