A new bill proposed by Democrats in Congress on Wednesday seeks to give the FDA the authority to require cosmetics companies to conduct safety assessments on product ingredients for pre-market approval, something the agency is unable to do under current law. The legislation has garnered support from activists such as Annie Leonard, narrator of the seven-minute “Story of Cosmetics” video, who claims in yesterday’s The Huffington Post, albeit with no formal scientific training, that “the average American bathroom is a minefield of toxic chemicals.”
Ecocentric, an online Time magazine blog, posted a similarly over-the-top article warning consumers about the alleged dangers of the chemicals found in cosmetics, which ACSH’s Dr. Elizabeth Whelan says is “just another example of putting huge amounts of publicity on something that poses no health risk.”
“The current push by activists seems to have the goal of establishing an independent regulator of cosmetic ingredient safety. There's nothing wrong with that — but they start out by alleging that cosmetic ingredients are 'toxic' and worse, which is a bogus claim, based on zero scientific evidence,” says ACSH’s Dr. Gilbert Ross.
“Absolutely,” agrees ACSH's Jeff Stier. “Today’s products are more refined, thus safer.”
