The FDA announced Friday that it is banning the sale of certain soaps that contain antibacterial ingredients.
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2, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that companies are no longer allowed to market over-the-counter (OTC) consumer antiseptic wash products containing at least one of 19 specific active ingredients, which include triclosan and triclocarban. “Regular handwashing with soap and warm water is as effective, if not more effective, than using these compounds that have chemicals in them”, he said. The rule doesn’t affect products used in health-care or food-service settings, or hand sanitisers or wipes.
Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) director, said that although consumers may believe antibacterial washes are effective at preventing the spread of disease-causing germs, no real scientific evidence backs up the claim that such products are better at such goal than regular soap and water.
The FDA has been concerned with the safety of triclosan and other antibacterial ingredients since 2005, particularly the effects that long-term exposure to the ingredients may have.
The FDA said Triclosan was used in 93 per cent of liquid products labeled “antibacterial” or “antimicrobial”. Manufacturers will have one year to remove the ingredients from their products or to take them off the market, the agency said.
Friday’s decision primarily targets two once-ubiquitous ingredients – triclosan and triclocarban – that some limited research in animals suggests can interfere with hormone levels and spur drug-resistant bacteria.
For the paper, researchers reviewed 27 studies on the potential hazards versus benefits of antibacterial soaps.
In 2013, the FDA ruled that companies with these antibacterial chemicals must prove that they are safe and effective for consumer use based on studies that showed little to evidence that these chemicals work or are safe for consumer use.
It sounds like it’s time to throw out the antibacterial soap in your house. The FDA’s focus is on the effects of triclosan when it is used by consumers on a regular basis in hand soaps and body washes.
Up until now, for these ingredients, either no additional data were submitted or the information that was reported were not sufficient enough for the agency to find that these ingredients fall under the category of GRAS/GRAE (Generally Recognized as Safe and Effective). Technically there are three ingredients that haven’t been banned yet; benzalkonium chloride, benzethonium chloride, and chloroxylenol.
The FDA has determined that 19 different chemicals added to antibacterial soaps are of no additional germ-fighting value and might actually be harmful.
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This rule doesn’t apply to hand sanitizers.
