Food Allergies & Cosmetics: Making-Up for Miscommunication
My previous pieces have discussed food allergies where they most commonly appear: food. While these culinary concerns are crucial for the safety of around 32 million people and their loved ones, it is also essential to consider other implications and extensions of food allergy security.
As a teenage female with food allergies, I find that people tend to overlook the troublesome encounters I must endure with cosmetics. This is a conversation I have failed to witness or experience beyond my allergist’s office, so let’s deliberate.
The National Library of Medicine defines cosmetics as “products you apply to your body to clean it, make it more attractive, or change the way it looks,” providing the examples of hair dye, shampoo, conditioner, makeup, perfumes, and skin care. While it may seem illogical to connect food allergies and commodities that are not usually (or supposed to be) consumed, it is important to contemplate lip products (which can, depending on the severity of one’s allergies, cause anaphylaxis) and overall skin contact (which can cause reactions and irritation/dermatitis).
In terms of regulations, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not need to provide approval for cosmetic merchandise, with the exception of color additives, to be placed on the market. This means that the beauty companies themselves are obligated to provide reliable, harmless goods in order to protect their consumers. There are certain laws for cosmetic safety, among them being appropriate labeling, eliminating harmful ingredients (for the general public, not including allergies), using sanitary conditions, and employing proper branding. However, this is profoundly different from food allergy labels, which are required to clearly and understandably label their allergen ingredients by law due to the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004. Exempt from this act, cosmetic manufacturers are not required to list their common allergens in layman’s terms, a concept that requires allergy-having customers to read every ingredient on the label sheet.
Sometimes, simply glossing over the label is not sufficient. Beauty expert Keila Alleyne wrote an article entitled “Food Allergens in Cosmetics,” where she explains that some goods’ complete ingredient lists have the potential to be hidden behind the visible labels, meaning purchasers must peel back the outside stickers. Alleyne also advises that prospective makeup users investigate each ingredient, using websites like “Paula’s Choice Ingredient Dictionary, INCIDecoder or EWG’S Skin Deep.”
This complex process might seem complete, but it is far from over. Even if the consumer is able to read the ingredients, a grave concern still lies in the fact that the allergens are not required to be clearly listed. Considering the most common allergies according to FARE, dairy related ingredients may be listed as aslac, caprae lac, lactoferrin, colostrum, or lactoperoxidase; egg related ingredients may be printed as ovum, ova, or lysozyme; peanut ingredients may be listed as arachide/archaic oil, arachis, or arachis hypogea; soy ingredients may be printed as glycine max/glycine soja; wheat products might be listed as “triticum vulgare, hordeum vulgare (barley), secale cereale (rye), avena sativa (oat)”; tree nuts have a variety of different names depending on their specific types, among them relating to almonds, coconuts, macadamia, hazelnut, and more; shellfish may be shown as chitosan or chitin; fish may be read as piscum lecur or piscis; sesame may be listed as sesamum indicum. Alleyne’s article provides an index of more ingredient names for other allergens, but I felt it was important to include these prevalent ones to demonstrate that even reading the labels is not completely adequate to ensure one’s safety. While I would provide examples of products that include these allergens, the list would become extensive, uncovering hidden, hurtful ingredients left and right.
Alleyne suggests attempting a small “patch test,” to ensure no discomfort or reaction happens while using the product. This advice is prodigious and beneficial, but it is outrageous that beauty companies do not and are not obliged to list these allergens directly, potentially endangering users who are unaware of this or who may be slightly nonchalant with their ingredient browsing. It is time that the cosmetic community creates concrete standards to acknowledge their buyers with allergies and their safety needs.
References
Alleyne, K. (2021, December 11). Food Allergens in Cosmetics. Zestfull. Retrieved June 25, 2022, from https://thezestfull.com/food-allergens-in-beauty-products-guide/
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. (n.d.). Cosmetic Products. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Retrieved June 24, 2022, from https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetic-products-ingredients/cosmetic-products#:~:text=Under%20U.S.%20law%2C%20cosmetic%20products,approved%20for%20their%20intended%20use
FARE. (n.d.). Common Allergens. Food Allergy Research & Education. Retrieved June 25, 2022, from https://www.foodallergy.org/living-food-allergies/food-allergy-essentials/common-allergens
Grayson, M. (2018, February). Allergy Facts and Figures. Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Retrieved June 24, 2022, from https://www.aafa.org/allergy-facts/#:~:text=Nine%20foods%20cause%20most%20food,food%20allergies%20in%20the%20U.S.&text=About%2026%20million%20(10.8%25)%20U.S.%20adults%20have%20food%20allergies
Kids With Food Allergies. (n.d.). Frequently Asked Questions About the Food Allergen Labeling Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA). Kids With Food Allergies Foundation. Retrieved June 25, 2022, from https://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/label-law-food-allergen-labeling-consumer-protection-act.aspx
Kids With Food Allergies. (n.d.). Do the food allergen labeling laws apply to cosmetics? Kids With Food Allergies Foundation. Retrieved June 25, 2022, from https://community.kidswithfoodallergies.org/blog/do-the-food-allergen-labeling-laws-apply-to-cosmetics
U.S. National Library of Medicine. (n.d.). Cosmetics | makeup. MedlinePlus. Retrieved June 24, 2022, from https://medlineplus.gov/cosmetics.html
