Criteria for raw materials
AllergyCertified’s criteria for raw materials apply to raw materials used in all certified products, regardless of the product type.
Background for having criteria for raw materials
The reason for making criteria for raw materials, is that raw materials can
- – contain chemicals with allergenic impurities
- – be added preservatives and stabilizing chemicals which can be allergenic
Consumers who choose a product with the AllergyCertified logo are usually
- – consumers who want to prevent developing an allergy
- – people who already have an allergy and want to avoid getting an allergic reaction from the products they use.
Chemicals used in raw materials that must be assessed by AllergyCertified
Since contact dermatitis is concentrations depended, the allergy risk assessment made by AllergyCertified is depending on exposure and safe concentration levels for elicitation. This means that there will be cases where a chemical is safe to use in a low concentration, but not in a high concentration. The same will count for different product types, where the exposure can differ. For raw materials, the concentration of chemicals added or produced during the process is very low, but still AllergyCertified will always need to make an individual assessment on each product, before it can obtain the certification.
Laboratory test
In some cases AllergyCertified will ask for a test of the final product. This is when a producer wants to use a raw material that contains an allergenic ingredient, but this ingredient is known to evaporate. The test must document that the allergen has evaporated during the process of the final product. AllergyCertified will demand a test of the final product made by an independent laboratory and the test must be done after best practice at the present time.
Application demands concerning raw materials
AllergyCertified need full knowledge about all the raw materials used in a certified product. In order to fulfil this, the applicant need to add Technical Data Sheets (TDS) to the recipe when they apply for the certification.
Demand for TDS
The TDS must contain following information:
- – info about all ingredients used in the raw materials, this also includes:
- * All chemicals added to the raw material such as preservatives/stabilizers etc.
- * Chemicals developed in the process of making the raw material such as perfumes, formaldehyde.
- *Level of impurities
- – Metals
- – Sesquiterpene
- – Terpene
- – Anthraquinone
- – Formaldehyde
Appendix 1 – Raw materials is an overview of chemicals found in raw materials. The applicant will be able to see the criteria for the different chemicals used. The appendix is not final and more chemicals will be added over time.