Consumer and industry groups testified recently on draft legislation that aims to strengthen FDA authority and provide funding to ensure the safety of the nation’s cosmetic supply. The proposal is part of a broader bill, the FDA Globalization Act of 2008, which aims to protect the nation’s food, drug, and medical device supply (CW, May 5, p. 33). No time line has been set for introduction of the bill.
The cosmetics portion of the bill would
Ciba Specialty Chemicals and the Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microtechnique (CSEM; Neuchâtel, Switzerland), a privately held R&D firm, have signed an agreement to jointly develop new commercial products based on printing- and micro-technologies. Ciba will provide material design and manufacturing know-how, and CSEM will provide systems and devices know-how.
The companies aim to jointly develop next-generation technologies in coatings, displays, packaging, and sensing for the printed interaction systems market. Application examples include ultra-thin organic light emitting diodes for display and lighting, organic transistors, solar cells, sensors, and holograms. —kp
require all cosmetic facilities operating within the U.S. or exporting cosmetics to the U.S. to annually register with FDA. A $2,000/facil- ity registration fee would help to support FDA’s oversight of cosmetics. The bill would also require all cosmetic facilities to report adverse events resulting from the use of their products and require them to comply with good manufacturing practices.
Cosmetics currently represent 9% of FDA-regulated products imported into the U.S., and the number of these imports is growing, Representative John Dingell (D., MI), House Committee on Energy and Commerce chairman, told a House panel last month. “In spite of a small budget increase last year, the FDA Office of Cosmetics and Colors has been unable to keep pace with the
increasing number of foreign cosmetic products,” says Dingell, who introduced the FDA Globalization Act.
While the bill offers “vital steps” to regulate the cosmetics industry, cosmetics are “ essentially unregulated” under federal law, Jane
Houlihan, v.p./research at the Environmental
Working Group (Washington) told the panel.
The FDA has “virtually no power to perform
even the most rudimentary func-
tions needed to ensure the safety of
an estimated $35 billion of personal
care products purchased by consum-
ers annually,” Houlihan says.
However, “of the 11 billion per-
sonal care products that are sold
annually, an average of less than
150 adverse reactions are reported,”
says industry group Personal Care
Products Council (Washington).
FDA encourages cosmetic manufacturers to register their facilities and file product ingredient statements with its Voluntary Cosmetic Registration Program, says Stephen Sundlof, director/Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at FDA. —Kate Philli Ps
Cosmetics are
‘essentially
unregulated’
under federal
law.
hydrocoLLoids
Clariant says it will start up a new masterbatch plant at Guangzhou, China in June. The facility, which replaces an older one at the site, will manufacture color and additive masterbatches for the Chinese packaging, consumer durable goods, and fibers/textiles markets.
Clariant has other masterbatch plants at Beijing and Shanghai, as well as a recently opened facility at Chon Buri, Thailand. The company also recently boosted capacity by 30% at its Tangerang, Indonesia masterbatch plant. Ciba says it expects to increase the Tangerang unit’s capacity a further 10% later this year. —kp
J.M. Huber’s CP Kelco says it has begun the second phase of the previously announced closure of its Knowsley, U.K. xanthan gum facility. This phase will include a “full process clean out as well as removal of certain proprietary process equipment,” following the shutdown of production last year, James Tuan, general manager/Biospecialties Group at Kelco, tells CW. Full process clean out is expected to be completed in September.
Kelco has said it is exploring options for the plant, including possibly selling the facility (CW, May 12/19, p. 57). “The scale economics of Knowsley was not optimal for xanthan gum, a product that has become very competitive,” Tuan says. “A sale of the asset is one of a number of options being explored.”
The Knowsley facility has “generated a great deal of interest, and we are currently engaged in a process to select the best opportunity,” Tuan says. Kelco expects “to complete an evaluation of various options within a 4-6 month time frame,” he adds.
Production from the Knowsley site has been transferred to other Kelco sites (CW, Sept. 19, 2007, p. 43). About 65 employees were affected by the closure, Tuan says.
Kelco produces xanthan gum at San Diego; Tulsa, OK; and Quingdao, China. Kelco had announced a shutdown of the Knowsley site before, “but changed its mind when the company realized it needed a genetically modified-free (GM-free) manufacturing site to service European demand,” says Dennis Seisun, president of hydrocolloid consulting firm IMR International (San Diego). Kelco’s Quingdao plant, which started up in 2006, most likely services European GM-free requirements, IMR says.
The $400-million global xanthan gum market is growing at about 5.2%/year, driven by growth in Asia and Eastern Europe, analysts say. Asia, particularly China, is growing at about 8%-10%/year, while Eastern Europe is growing at about 6%-7%/year. Europe and the U.S. follow, at 3%-5%. —KP
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