"As soon as we knew that these shampoos contained 1,4-Dioxane we quickly informed the public in a statement on our website and notified the Ministry of HealthMinistry of Health of the hazard, and we urged the Ministry of CommerceMinistry of Commerce of the need to immediately remove the shampoos from local store shelves," said Saleh Bawazeer, vice chairman of drug affairs at the SFDA.

1,4-Dioxane is a type of ether used as an industrial solvent that can potentially contaminate a variety of household cosmetic and body products, like shampoo, deodorant and toothpaste. There are processes that can remove this contaminant, but some companies forego the added expense to ensure their products do not contain the solvent.

The US Environmental Protection Agency classifies this compound as Group B2, meaning that it is a "probable human carcinogen" based on studies on animals.

The initial investigation that led to the Saudi consumer warning, which resulted in the finding of the eight tainted brands, was done over a course of two months with samples being tested from 84 various brands of shampoos currently available on the Saudi consumer market.

Following an SFDA advisory to block the imports of the brands of shampoos found to contain the cancer-causing chemical, Saudi Customs impounded several consignments at the Kingdom's entry points.

Arab News toured several shops and pharmacies in Jeddah and found that the tainted shampoos were not as easy to find as they were previously.

"My mother sent me out on Friday looking for the Sehat Cedr shampoo," said Arwa Hussein. "Luckily I did not find it in the two shops I visited. However, on Saturday, we ventured out to shop for the product again and purchased a couple of bottles but was informed by a friend of the SFDA announcement that they were unsafe."

Following previous testing of 1,4-Dioxane, the EPA classified it as a probable carcinogen and said the chemical can penetrate into the skin resulting in symptoms such as vertigo, drowsiness, headache, anorexia, and acute irritation of the eyes, nose, throat and lungs.

Extended exposure can result in damaging the liver and kidneys. Cancerous skin tumors were also observed in a number of similar EPA studies of the compound on animals.

By Sarah Abdullah

© Arab News 2009

 

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