Natural, Organic, and Toxic Too?
A consumer watchdog group, the Organic Consumers Association (OCA), has recently uncovered small amounts of a petroleum-based ingredient, known to cause cancer in animals, in some cleaning and personal grooming products manufactured and distributed by some of the leading names in the natural and organic arena.
Small amounts of 1,4-dioxane, a solvent, was found in 46 out of 100 popular products, which ranged from shampoos to shower gels to dishwashing soaps. The solvent isn’t a deliberate addition to the products and so is not cited on the ingredients lists. It is a manufacturing by-product instead.
It is important to note that, although there are no federally required regulations sanctioning the use of the terms natural and organic, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) does issue a seal of organic certification to products that meet its own tests and standards.
To earn the USDA organic seal, 95% or more of a product must be made from organic ingredients. Using the seal in violation of agency policy can result in penalties totalling $11,000 for each violation. Of the products tested in the OCA survey, none of the products bearing the USDA organic seal contained any trace of the solvent at all.
To illustrate the extent to which standards vary, The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) claims the amount of 1,4-dioxane usually found in cosmetics doesn’t pose a risk to consumers.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission, chartered to regulate household cleaning agents, does not identify a danger limit for the 1,4-dioxane and evaluates each case as it occurs.
The state of California requires a warning label, identifying the risk of cancer, on any products that contain an excess of 30 parts per million (ppm) of 1,4-dioxane. Levels as high as 97.1 ppm were found in one of the liquid dishwashing detergents tested.
Some of the products that tested positive for the solvent include Jason Fragrance Free Satin Soap and Alba Botanical Passion Fruit Body Wash. A spokesperson for Hain Celestial, owners of the Jason and Alba brands, says the term “pure, natural, and organic” on Jason products refers only to the products’ ingredients. Within the Alba line, no claims or “organic” are made and “natural” simply means they try to use ingredients from natural sources whenever possible.
Whole Foods Market’s 365 Everyday Value Shower Gel was also on the list of solvent-positive products. Claiming the term “natural” but not “organic” for the 365 Everday Value product line, a spokesman for Whole Foods Markets says the company has plans to investigate further.
Citrus Magic 100 Percent Natural Dish Liquid, manufactured by Beaumont Products, was found to contain trace amounts of 1,4-dioxane, too. In a statement describing the findings of the OCA test as the first the company had heard of the presence of the solvent, the company’s technical director says there are plans to review its raw materials and any other potential sources of contamination.
The OCA is a private organization that receives funding from private donations and corporate grants. Two of its founders own lines of personal care products. One of them, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, tested negative to the presence of 1,4-dioxane. The other line, Intelligent Nutrients, was not tested because it’s area of distribution is limited.
Source: Organic Consumers Association
- Is there a confusion among the general public, as to what the term “Organic” means, when placed on products?
Gotcha! all of you organic fanatics
Organic products fanatics may not need to worry yet, since the article says “none of the products bearing the USDA organic seal contained any trace of the solvent at all.” The products that were found to contain the 1,4-dioxane included some labeled “natural”, but none named organic. Some organic products not tested may contain dioxane, but we don’t know about it yet. Some organic products (tested or not) may contain some other natural or artificial dangers that we don’t know about.
What should we do? Use only organic shampoo and bath soap (to avoid skin absorption of dioxane), and use rubber gloves to wash our dishes? Move to California?
While I ponder what to do, I’ll go have some popcorn. I know I cannot add butter to it, because of the cholesterol. I also have to throw away the artificially butter flavored popcorn because it may contain diacetyl (which causes popcorn lung disease in some people). I may just add margarine, but it has to be trans-fat-free. My buttery spread is not labeled organic, but it says it contains a natural blend of oils, and 2% or less of a variety of ingredients. If the total of those is less than %5, they could have labeled it organic, but the label does not say “organic”. Not enough information here. Not enough information in life in general. Oh, well! At least, I exercise due diligence in my investigation. I’ll use the spread. I’ll have the popcorn, but I’ll try not to inhale the flavor vapors just in case. Popcorn, here I go! Don’t worry, be happy!
While this article does explain some of the issues with regulating organic personal care, the first sentence is just flat out wrong and needs to be changed before consumers get the wrong idea or someone decides to sue you for just putting out the wrong information. In the first sentence it mentions that there is no regulation for food–what do you call the Organic Food Production Act and the USDA Organic seal?? The US organic program is one of the most highly regulated food systems in the world and although it is a young program and may still have a few issues here that need to be tweaked (defining exactly how much pasture time a cow should have for instance), it is very regulated and these regulations are taken very seriously. Putting this outright lie in the first sentence could damage the integrity that so many organic farmers and food processors have worked so hard to build and could literally take money out of the hands of many small farmers who have spent years building their soil, and doing the right thing, the hard way, so that we could have a better food system.
Please take the word “food” out of the first sentence and the article will at least not be as misleading and just wrong. As for personal care, there are many issues to be sorted out. There are many companies doing the right thing, but there are also some who are pushing the envelope (although I would still say these are better than the alternative). The problem is that the USDA organic standards were written with food in mind, not personal care. That means that simple and safe personal care processes that have been used for centuries are not allowed, not because they are unnatural and bad for you, but because they are processes would never be used in food, thus they were not included in the USDA organic standards. Right now if something has the USDA seal, it has been officially verified as organic–but it verified to the food standards. These can be trusted to be truly organic. There are other certification systems that are being developed to deal with the personal care, but in the meantime, if something has the USDA seal (or a certifier seal for products made with 70 percent organic ingredients), you do not have to worry about any of the above mentioned issues.
We need that better alternative to the conventional food because the quality of food in our country is far worse than you can imagine. Conventional food in my opinion does not meet the high quality standards we Americans deserve. I personally would like to change the naming convention of our foods. The organic food should be called the conventional and 90 percent of today’s conventional food should be taken off the shelves and discarded as uneatable.
robert knyzewski, Diet Universal
Oh for cryin out loud… It really all just boils down to anything manufactored is going to have complicated effects. It doesn’t matter WHAT went into it, be it 100% organic or genetically modified, what comes OUT is far from “natural”. It’s irradiated, salted, sugared, crushed, smashed and nigh on unrecognizable. I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you want to be healthy and help the environment, buy food from a local farmer’s market and cook at home. And use the damn butter. It’s better for you than any of those weird supplements, cholesterol and all as long as you don’t go too crazy.
The actual way you can scientifically Identify Organic is simple: CHONS Specifically Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen – and sometimes Sulfur. Anything with those ingredients is organic, although if you add something to it that is not categorized, you may have a problem in calling it Organic!
FTC ASKED TO EXAMINE SHOCKING SUIT BY STATE OF CALIFORNIA AGAINST WHOLE FOODS FOR KNOWINGLY OR NEGLIGENTLY HAVING CARCINOGEN IN HEALTH CARE PRODUCTS
Members of the United States Federal Trade Commission were asked to revisit their prior correct ruling, despite it having been overturned by a lower court, that the Merger between Whole Foods and Wild Oats is indeed an anti-trust violation as a Monopoly; details on California’s suit against Whole Foods under Prop. 65 for known carcinogens found in Whole Foods so-called “organic” body care products. Readers could do the same directly as well as through their U.S. Congressmen and Senators.
DETAILS ARE HERE:
http://www.prlog.org/10079593-california-lawsuit-whole-foods-avalon-and-others-with-products-containing-carcinogenic-1-4-dioxane.html
Does it matter whether Whole Foods, Avalon, etc., failed to know this poison was there in their own products, or did they conceal the truth, even when threatened with a lawsuit?
This certainly raises a series of very obvious further questions, as to whether the Federal Trade Commission should revisit and to refile its action to prohibit the merger of Whole Foods and Wild Oats, as a matter of law and as a matter of consumer protection. I have just encouraged the FTC Commissioners to do exactly that, as well as submit Amicus Curie briefs in the California Proposition 65/Whole Foods lawsuit!
PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO ALL OF YOUR COLLEAGUES AND FRIENDS AND FAMILY, AND
ENCOURAGE THEM AS A KIND OF SELF PRESERVATION, TO SEND IT OUT AS WIDELY AS POSSIBLE.
To me, it is egregious that this company has always been trusted by millions of American enough for them to pay extra for ostensibly healthier “organic” food, and then comes along this gross breach of the
public’s trust, with the presence of this carcinogen at more than 10,000 the acceptable minimum levels! We would never even know about it, were it not for this suit by California Attorney General Jerry Brown. Maybe he should be the next US Attorney General!
Related article here:
http://www.prlog.org/10056715-hawaii-senate-aspartame-resolution-requesting-fda-to-rescind-approval-for-united-states-markets.html
Thank you,
Stephen Fox
Managing Editor, Santa Fe Sun News
Founder, New Millennium Fine Art, Santa Fe Gallery since 1980
stephen@santafefineart.com
505 983-2002