Salon care product labeling

Editorial Salon care product labeling The Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA) requires consumer products under Food and Drug Administration (FDA) purview to be labeled with the ingredients listed in descending order of concentration. This law specifically exempts professional care products sold in hair care salons, not intended for resale to the public. Dermatologists who deal with contact dermatitis on a regular basis fully appreciate the tremendous benefit consumer product labeling has provided to persons with allergic reactions caused by specific ingredients found in many common cosmetics and toiletries. The genesis of the initial FPLA was not a concern for the health of our patients but a response to the consumer movement's call for information allowing value comparisons. The benefits of providing full ingredient disclosure on products sold in professional hair care salons is readily apparent to dermatologists as well as workers in these salons and clients affected with allergic contact dermatitis. Intelligent preventive measures can relieve much human suffering and allow those with particular environmental or health concerns to select products that meet their unique needs and interests. For this reason the North American Contact Dermatitis Group (NACDG), working in consultation with key Academy personnel, made our patients' needs and our interests in effecting this change known to both industry and government personnel. At the same time that we were beginning this unReprint requests: Robert L. Rietschel, MD, 1514 Jefferson Highway, New Orleans, LA 7012J.

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dertaking, Congressman Ron Wyden of Oregon began to hold hearings on cosmetic safety. Industry represented by the Cosmetics, Toiletries and Fragrance Association (CTFA), having lived with the FPLA and realizing the reasonable nature of our request, seized the initiative that we began and worked with other manufacturing organizations to develop a voluntary salon care product labeling program that goes into effect at the end of 1989. This program was outlined at hearings held by Congressman Wyden in the fall of 1988. The voluntary program will provide the labeling information on containers or as an insert in the package as is done under the FPLA. However, ingredients do not have to be listed in descending order. They may alternatively be listed alphabetically. Some industry representatives wished this to prevent their product from being available for legal resale to consumers. (If a product sold to consumers does not have the ingredients in descending order, it is misbranded and subject to FDA seizure.) How well this new voluntary program will work remains to be seen. We applaud the efforts of both Congressman Wyden and the CTFA in bringing this program forward quickly without the need for the more time-consuming legislative process of revising the FPLA. If your patients' needs are not well served by this change, let members of the NACDG know and we will attempt to work further with interested parties. Robert L. Rietschel, MD,a and

Walter G. Larsen, MU New Orleans, Louisiana,a and Portland, Oregorf

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