Fragrances Come With Labeling Controversy article

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Fragrances Come With Labeling Controversy

Group Calls For Warning Labels On Some Fragrances

http://www.wral.com/health/4520940/detail.html

BALTIMORE -- Consumer groups have recently called for warning labels

on cosmetics and personal products that contain some form of perfume

or fragrance, reported WBAL-TV in Baltimore.

Betty Bridges doesn't go anywhere without a mask because she has

asthma. She said an ingredient found in everyday products triggered

her asthma.

" You just can't breathe, you don't have enough air to talk. My lungs

just tighten up, " Bridges said. " You feel like you're going to die. "

Consumer groups support Bridges in her claims that certain ingredients

in products containing fragrance are dangerous. Bridges helped the

Environmental Health Network in 1999 to file a petition asking the

Food and Drug Administration to require warning labels.

" I want the industry to be responsible, and I want government agencies

to protect the consumer like they're supposed to, " Bridges said.

Under federal law, manufacturers of perfumes and personal care

products must list ingredients on the label -- but if the product

contains fragrance, the ingredients that make up that fragrance don't

have to be listed, the television station reported.

Additionally, federal law requires products to carry warning labels if

any ingredients have not been assessed for safety.

But Jane Houlihan, the vice president for research at the Washington,

D.C.-based Environmental Working Group, said that's not happening enough.

" What we've asked the FDA to do is just merely enforce the law, "

Houlihan said.

Houlihan's organization filed a petition with the FDA last year after

launching its own investigation into ingredients contained in perfumes

and personal care products.

" What we found is that 89 percent of all ingredients used in these

products -- and we looked at more than 7,000 products -- have never

been assessed for safety, " Houlihan said.

Houlihan said that's because manufacturers themselves oversee their

own product testing, and consumers have to take the company's word.

EWG also claimed the fragrance industry's decisions are often based on

data for skin allergies and rashes, not other health problems.

" We found that one-third of all products contain chemicals that are

linked to cancer -- we found chemicals linked to birth defects in some

products. We're asking manufacturers to reformulate, to go back to

basics and say what is safe and what is not safe, " Houlihan said.

The Fragrance Materials Association of the United States, which

represents the manufacturers, released this statement:

" It's unfortunate that an environmental group's report has

unnecessarily alarmed consumers in recent weeks. Scientists have noted

that the report is misleading and lacks credibility. ... Fragrance

ingredients are subjected to extensive testing and evaluation

processes. Fragrances have a long history of safe use dating back

hundreds of years. "

Unlike drugs and medical devices, the FDA does not approve cosmetics

before the products go on the market. The FDA would not comment on the

Environmental Working Group's petition, but said it is now working on

product guidance for the industry.