Is antibacterial soap bad for you?
Channel: Risk Bites
Date: 2013-12-18

Is antibacterial soap good or bad for you?  As the US Food and Drug Administration proposes a ruling that would require soap manufacturers to prove the safety and effectiveness of antimicrobials like triclosan and triclocarban, Risk Bites takes a look at some of the issues around these consumer products.

Please check the links below for more information -- especially on the FDA proposal, which is out for comment for the next six months.

And don't forget to join the conversation in the comments.

The Risk Bites Team:
Producer: Andrew Maynard
Research Director: David Faulkner
Research: Alyssa Berry

Also, many thanks to the University of Michigan Environmental Health Sciences Master in Public Health team working on triclosan: Anna Sadovnikova, Hao Xu, Charles ZhouKathryn Surnow, Elizabeth Wetzel and Kelly Serfling.


Risk Bites is supported by:
University of Michigan School of Public Health. http://www.sph.umich.edu/
University of Michigan Risk Science Center. http://umriskcenter.org 

FURTHER READING

FDA: FDA Taking Closer Look at 'Antibacterial' Soap. http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm378393.htm

FDA Press Release: FDA issues proposed rule to determine safety and effectiveness of antibacterial soaps. http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm378542.htm

FDA: Federal Register notice of proposed rule. Safety and Effectiveness of Consumer Antiseptics; Topical Antimicrobial Drug Products for Over-the-Counter Human Use; Proposed Amendment of the Tentative Final Monograph; Reopening of Administrative Record.   https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/12/17/2013-29814/safety-and-effectiveness-of-consumer-antiseptics-topical-antimicrobial-drug-products-for

EPA pesticides reregistration: Triclosan http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/reregistration/triclosan/

CDC Triclosan factsheet: http://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/Triclosan_FactSheet.html

Mayo Clinic: Triclosan: Is it safe? http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/triclosan/AN02141

Mind The Science Gap: Is Antibacterial Soap Bad For You? Part 1: http://www.mindthesciencegap.org/2013/02/25/are-antibacterial-soaps-bad-for-you-part-1/  Part 2: http://www.mindthesciencegap.org/2013/03/04/is-antibacterial-soap-bad-for-you-part-2/

National Toxicology Program supporting information for toxicological evaluation of triclosan (PDF): http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/htdocs/Chem_Background/ExSumPdf/triclosan_508.pdf

Consumer Antibacterial Soaps: Effective or Just Risky? Allison Aiello, Elaine Larson and Stuart Levy, Clin Infect Dis. (2007) 45 (Supplement 2): S137-S147 http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/519255

Washington Post: Antibacterial soap makers would need to prove efficacy under proposed FDA rules http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/antibacterial-soap-makers-would-need-to-prove-efficacy-under-proposed-fda-rules/2013/12/16/6d4c8056-6660-11e3-a0b9-249bbb34602c_story.html

New York Times: F.D.A. Questions Safety of Antibacterial Soaps http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/17/health/fda-to-require-proof-that-antibacterial-soaps-are-safe.html

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