The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday said it would place limits on the use of the preservatives methylisothiazolinone (MI) and a mixture of methylchloroisothiazolinone and methylisothiazolinone (MCI/MI), following a media report questioning athe absence of a standard in the country compared with long-established restrictions in the EU, the US and Japan.
The report cited a study released at the British Association of Dermatologists’ Annual Conference in July, which pointed out that an epidemic of contact allergy to MI and MCI/MI may be on the horizon.
According to the study, the sensitization rate to MCI/MI remains at a high prevalence of about 2 percent. This is even after “the maximum concentrations of 7.5 and 15 ppm for leave-on and rinse-off products, respectively, were recommended” in the wake of “a European ‘epidemic’ of contact dermatitis caused by MCI/MI” when sensitization rates rose to 5 percent.
FDA official Yeh Meng-yi (葉孟宜) said that maximum concentrations of MI and MCI/MI are scheduled to be announced. The preliminary conclusion of the expert meeting on the matter is that the limits should be set at 0.01 percent (100ppm) for MI and 0.0015 percent (15ppm) for MCI/MI.
“MI will not be allowed at all in products that come into contact with mucous membranes, and the maximum concentration of MCI/MI for rinse-off products will be set at 0.1 percent [1,000ppm],” Yeh said, adding that the regulations have been discussed and proposed in accordance with those of the EU.
When it was pointed out that the European Commission is now planning to restrict the use of MCI/MI to rinse-off products, which have been restricted to a maximum MCI/MI concentration of 0.0015 percent, Yeh acknowledged that the EU’s standard is stricter, but added that the limits made public in response to the media report have not yet been finalized as further discussions will be carried out and experts’ opinions solicited.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
Snow fell on Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山) yesterday morning as a continental cold air mass sent temperatures below freezing on Taiwan’s tallest peak, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Snowflakes were seen on Yushan’s north peak from 6:28am to 6:38am, but they did not fully cover the ground and no accumulation was recorded, the CWA said. As of 7:42am, the lowest temperature recorded across Taiwan was minus-5.5°C at Yushan’s Fengkou observatory and minus-4.7°C at the Yushan observatory, CWA data showed. On Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County, a low of 1.3°C was recorded at 6:39pm, when ice pellets fell at Songsyue Lodge (松雪樓), a
RSS