Wal-Mart and Procter & Gamble began phasing-out the chemical, which is a known endocrine disruptor, in products they sold in 2013.
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The US agency issued the ban on Friday, stipulating that due to insufficient data to prove the 19 ingredients – including the most commonly used, triclosan and triclocarban – are effective at preventing the spread of germs coupled with data suggesting that long-term exposure to the ingredients poses health risks, companies have a year to remove the chemicals from their products or stop selling the products.
The two most common chemicals are triclosan and triclocarban, often found in liquid soaps, bar soaps and other items.
The ruling means that products with 19 different antibacterial ingredients – the most popular of which are triclosan and triclocarban – must be reformulated or removed from stores within a year.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is banning most antibacterial soaps and body washes now on store shelves, arguing that the products create potential health risks but don’t perform any better than plain old soap and water.
The move affects roughly 40 percent of the over-the-counter antibacterial soap market and the way you shop. The Environmental Protection Agency is also in the process of reviewing the ingredients in question.
It has even been suggested that triclosan could potentially be harmful as animal studies have shown high doses can affect hormones in the body although this hasn’t been studied in humans.
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At the same time, manufacturers failed to show that their antibacterial products are any better than ordinary soap and water at preventing the spread of germs, the FDA said. Manufacturers have one year to submit information about their safety and effectiveness. It also does not cover antiseptics used in health care settings, the FDA said. If soap and water are not available, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that an alcohol-based hand sanitizer be used that contains at least 60 percent alcohol. All manufacturers will have one year to comply with the rulemaking by removing products from the market or reformulating (removing antibacterial active ingredients) these products. “Some manufacturers have already started removing these ingredients from their products”, the FDA said in a statement.
