Over the recent years Benzene, a highly carcinogenic chemical has been found in personal care products in increasing amounts in the US. Traces of contamination were first discovered in suncare products, deodorants and antiperspirants. In response to the situation in the US the Indian FMCG major Hindustan Unilever issued an official statement that it does not manufacture dry shampoos or conditioners. Benzene was recently found in dry shampoos and conditioners that were being manufactured by the US FMCG major Unilever. This led to the company voluntarily recalling their products they had manufactured prior to October 2021. This was done because an internal investigation revealed that these products contained high amounts of the chemical. This led to apprehensions amongst the consumers that they may have used some of the products of the recalled batches. To allay these fears Unilever US issued a statement to highlight that none of the recalled products had any adverse effects on their users and said that there were to report to substantiate the ill effects . They further clarified that the voluntary recalls done by them were as a precautionary measure. Claims made by FDA and others According to the US FDA Benzene is a health hazard and is ubiquitous in nature. It poses a threat to human life as it is believed to cause leukemia, anemia and other blood disorders as shown by earlier use of benzene. In fact it has since been revealed that benzene is harmful even when imbibed at low levels . In another report by FDA it is revealed that the root cause of Benzene contamination is due to the propellants used in aerosol products. However it has now been highlighted that the US had banned the use of benzene in all products many decades ago however this did not deter the manufacturing lobby of consumer goods that continued to use Benzene in their products despite the government ban. The agency now has been called out for failing to protect the public and not adhering to the government ban. Prior to the incident FDA was asked to clarify the existing permissible benzene limits and carry out tests to ascertain their tolerable level of the chemical that may be permitted in the products. FDA subsequently carried out trials that established a limit of 2 ppm as permissible. Presently FDA states that it is monitoring the issue and has asked companies to stop using toxic substance like Benzene in their manufacturing. Last year, an independent testing lab, Valisure, also claimed the detection of Benzene in several personal care products that were aerosol and spray based. Their findings also suggested that this contamination may have reached other products as well. Valisure also revealed the cause of the chemical contamination may have been due to manufacturing and supply chain problems. The lab’s finding also prompted several major companies like Johnson & Johnson’s, Proctor & Gamble Co to recall many of their popular aerosol based products. Additionally various sources have revealed that it is difficult to narrow down and target a specific chemical that causes illnesses and how they end up affecting consumers remains a mystery. Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
27 Oct 2022
Roshni Kumar
