Report:
“Allergens in Consumer Products”
Source: National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, 2008
“The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) is a recognised leading centre of expertise in the fields of health, nutrition and environmental protection. We work mainly for the Dutch government. We also share our knowledge with governments and supranational bodies around the world. The results of our research, monitoring, modelling and risk assessment are used to underpin policy on public health, food, safety and the environment. We employ over 1500 employees, many of whom work in multidisciplinary fields.”
The Netherlands organization, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, was commissioned to make an inventory of the degree to which people suffer from allergies from consumer products. Their report details how consumer products like cosmetics, toys, clothing and textile, and scented products contain chemical allergens that have the potential to induce either contact dermatitis or respiratory allergy in consumers.
Compounds with an allergenic potency found in consumer products are metals like nickel and chromate; a large group of fragrances like isoeugenol, d-limonene, oak moss and Peru balsam; preservatives like isothialozinones, methyldibromoglutaronitrile, CMI/MI, and formaldehyde; (hair) dyes like para-phenylene diamine (PPD) and resins and solvents like colophonium. The report found that the main product groups responsible for induction of contact dermatitis in consumers were metallic accessories and cosmetics.
Allergic diseases are among the most common chronic disorders in the Western countries.
To learn more, read the report.