Cosmetics Containing Phthalates Are Safe, Says CTFA

The use of phthalates in cosmetics and personal care products is supported by an extensive body of scientific research and data that confirms safety, according to the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association (CTFA), Washington D.C. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Health Canada and other scientific bodies in Europe, North America, and Japan have examined phthalates and allow their continued use.

Phthalates were also reviewed by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR), an independent body that reviews the safety of ingredients used in cosmetics. CIR found them to be safe for use in cosmetics in 1985. CIR is an independent, non-profit scientific body that holds open public meetings and publishes its findings in a peer reviewed journal. Its seven voting medical and scientific members must meet the same conflict of interest standards as persons serving on the FDA,s expert advisory committees. FDA, the Consumer Federation of America, and industry serve as non-voting members on the CIR Expert Panel.

At its meeting on June 19th, the CIR expert panel voted to begin a re-review of the phthalates. The re-review is a normal part of the CIR process to evaluate new data and assure that previous conclusions are still valid. Starting this process does not suggest that a previous conclusion will be changed, only that there is sufficient new information that should be evaluated.

By law, cosmetic ingredients, including phthalates, must be listed among the ingredients on product labels, unless they are added as a part of the “fragrance. As a fragrance might contain hundreds of fragrance materials, the law recognizes that such information on individual materials, present in very small quantities, would not be practical to put on the label, and requires instead that the term “fragrance be listed.

The Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act requires that cosmetics and their individual ingredients must be safe and that labelling must be truthful and not misleading. The Food and Drug Administration,s (FDA) legal authority over cosmetics is comparable with its authority over other FDA-regulated products, such as foods, non-prescription drugs, and non-prescription medical devices. FDA can take immediate action to stop the sale of any product that does not meet these standards.

Consumers can have confidence in their cosmetics given their oversight by FDA and long history of safe use.