October 30 @ 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm EDT
Consumer and regulatory confidence in personal care product safety relies largely on ingredient labeling and certification systems, both of which are built on manufacturer-reported formulation rather than direct analytical verification. This talk presents two complementary studies addressing that gap. The first study applied non-targeted chemical analysis (GC×GC-HRMS) to 113 personal care and cleaning products, detecting 3,141 unique chemical features. 98% of products contained at least one unlabeled chemical, and 85% contained at least one with known or suspected health hazards, despite products averaging 3x more chemicals than their labels disclosed. The second study systematically reviewed 18 major certification and ingredient-evaluation programs across U.S. and EU markets, finding that virtually all rely on ingredient disclosure and documentation with minimal incorporation of finished-product testing. Together, these findings identify a structural disconnect between intended and actual product composition, and support incorporating non-targeted analytical methods into certification and regulatory frameworks to improve exposure/hazard assessment and consumer protection.
