It is well known that the industry has been torn over the use of anti-bacterial agents in liquid hand soap. Conflicting scientific studies show a reasonable benefit in the use of anti-bacterial hand soap, but other studies show little of no benefit between standard hand soap and those with anti-bacterial properties. The US Food and Drug Administration has made a ruling, banning anti-bacterial soaps in the United States that contain any of 19 ingredients that have no evidence of being ‘safe’ and could possibly cause more harm than good over long-term use. The ingredient ban will affect over 40% of off-the-shelf anti-bacterial soaps in the market throughout the USA.
Included in the list include triclocarbon and the widely used triclosan which is also commonly used in toothpastes, acne medications, deodorants and detergents. “It can affect hormone function, damage the liver and kidneys and is a suspected carcinogen,” says Sally Gaw, environmental chemist and Canterbury University senior lecturer, who is one of NZ scientists that support the ban.
Triclosan is a preservative to prevent fungus and mildew from growing on a variety of consumer product compounds such as plastic, leather, paper, rubber and textile. An environmental toxicologist at the Cawthron Institute, Louis Tremblay, agreed New Zealand should incite a ban, but has indicated that the ingredient was still a good weapon in medical and veterinary environments where pathogens thrive. “Under those circumstances, it makes sense to use products containing triclosan to reduce the spread of disease”
The country’s leading food authority, The Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI), have a number of anti-bacterial materials approved for skin contact, including those used in some of Kemsol products. NZ researchers are currently conducting studies regarding the safety and effectiveness of ingredients in consumer wash products, which may lead to reformulations in the future.
Regardless we are watching the space closely and already we have a number of non-antibacterial products available:
Foam Soap
Lemonsoft
Velvet Touch
Wild Lavender
Vibe
Heavy Duty Hand soaps: