Extend Labeling Laws to Household Cleaners
Newsday
July 22, 2009
Thanks to federal law, the folks who make the packaged food that you prepare in your kitchen have to list all the ingredients on the label. But what about manufacturers of the products you use to clean that kitchen? The truth is, they don't have to tell you much. That could be dangerous.
In recent years, the healthy habit of label reading has helped families to avoid nasty, artery-clogging stuff such as partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and foods with a long list of unpronounceable chemical ingredients.
Household cleaners also contain plenty of potentially dangerous chemicals. A report by Women's Voices for the Earth focuses on chemicals such as glycol ethers, monoethanolamine and phthalates - associated with asthma and adverse reproductive effects. Still, though labels on the cleansers do contain warnings, they don't have to list ingredients - with very few exceptions. Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) proposes to change that.