The recent US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decision to ban certain chemical ingredients in antibacterial soaps comes after years of considerable controversy, bad publicity and restrictions of use including in Europe. According to Euromonitor International, probiotic ingredients are well positioned to penetrate the personal care market, favoured by the trend towards natural and milder ingredients.
With no suitable alternative proven to be safe, the red light for Triclosan has received a warm welcome from the probiotic industry.
Triclosan is an antimicrobial ingredient widely used in beauty and personal care products, the efficacy and safety of which has been called into question for some years now.
To date, 19 active chemical ingredients, including Triclosan, have been banned in the US from use in commercial antibacterial soaps, driven by the industry’s failure to provide the required scientific evidence to support its claims. In 2014, the European Union also banned Triclosan in shaving products.
However, Triclosan is still found in other cosmetic and personal care products, including toothpaste and oral care products.
In advance of the expected ban, key players such as Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson or Colgate-Palmolive started phasing out Triclosan from their bath and shower products in 2013. Unsurprisingly, with no obvious safe and cost-effective replacement for Triclosan, volumes of antimicrobial ingredients in bath and shower products started to fall, with a year-on-year decline of 16% between 2013 and 2014 and a more drastic drop of 41% between 2014 and 2015. Actually, fewer products are now making antibacterial claims due to the huge uncertainty …
