[An article about this bill was originally published in April 2009 at my old FDA Globalization Act blog. Due to a technical glitch, the article did not transfer here. This is what I recall of that post. Update: 8/11/2010: This post is here for informational purposes only, as the bill seems to have died in committee. One of the co-sponsors was Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Ca), who is expected to introduce the Senate version of the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 sometime in the summer of 2010.]
In April 2009, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced the “Safe Baby Products Act of 2009 (PDF) requiring that the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) test cosmetics and personal care products that are likely contaminated with impurities or contaminants, including several ingredients specified in the bill.*
The bill is aimed specifically at products intended for children aged 7 and under such as baby shampoo, baby bath, lipstick, nail polish, lotion, cream, sunscreen, liquid soa, and baby wipes). The bill requires Congress to submit the test results to Congress and to make them public.
The bill also requires that the FDA establish a second set of good manufacturing practices (there is already one set of GMP that applies as a guideline to cosmetics in general) for each impurity or contaminant listed, by which companies using those ingredients can reduce or eliminate the use of those ingredients by switching to alternate ingredients or changing manufacturing processes to reduce or eliminate the ingredients.
According to a press release at Senator Gillibrand's website, the bill was introduced in direct response to the Campaign For Safe Cosmetics's “Toxic Tub” report.
In a phone call last week with Senator Gillibrand's staffer assigned to the bill, I was informed that no formal action is being taken on the bill currently. I am monitoring progress and will post any updates at this blog.
*1,4–dioxane, nitrosamines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (commonly referred to as ‘‘PAHs’’), acrylamide, ethylene oxide, dioxin, 1,3–butadiene, formaldehyde, lead, and hydroquinone.
