The Consumers’ Foundation has found formaldehyde, plasticizers and allergens in common fragrance diffusers, and called on the government to introduce safety regulations.
The foundation said it randomly tested 13 diffusers purchased at hypermarkets, grocery stores and cosmetic stores in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as on e-commerce platforms, in November and December last year.
The results showed that one of them contained 60 parts per million (ppm) of formaldehyde, which is a typical chemical that causes indoor air pollution and has been listed as a carcinogen and a teratogen by the WHO, the foundation told a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
Photo courtesy of the Consumers’ Foundation
Another product was found to contain more than 10,000ppm of diethyl phthalate (DEP), which is primarily used as a plasticizer, the foundation said.
Although phthalates can serve as a fixative in perfumes and other fragrance products, recent studies have found that large-scale, long-term exposure to the chemical compounds might increase the risk of breast cancer, endometrial cancer and other cancers related to female hormones, as well as reduce male fertility, the foundation said.
In addition, nine samples were found to contain allergens listed in EU regulations regarding cosmetics, including hydroxycitronellal, coumarin, cinnamaldehyde, linalool, limonene and ionone, which might trigger allergic reactions such as sneezing, a rash or shortness of breath in certain people, it said.
Seven samples were found to contain galaxolide, or “synthetic musk,” which is a persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic substance according to the European Chemicals Agency’s assessment, it added.
The labeling of two of the products purchased on e-commerce platforms also did not comply with regulations, it said.
According to the Commodity Labeling Act (商品標示法), the “competent authority” of the municipal, county or city government should notify the manufacturer or the importer to rectify the issue within a given time limit. Those who fail to do so would face a fine of NT$20,000 to NT$200,000 per time until the rectification has been made, it said.
The foundation said it has sent a letter to the Ministry of Economic Affairs last year suggesting that diffusers should be regulated, as the volatile compounds they emit could enter the human body.
It called on the government to introduce regulations on diffusers as soon as possible and require businesses to label all ingredients, to allow consumers to make informed choices.
An essay competition jointly organized by a local writing society and a publisher affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) might have contravened the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. “In this case, the partner organization is clearly an agency under the CCP’s Fujian Provincial Committee,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “It also involves bringing Taiwanese students to China with all-expenses-paid arrangements to attend award ceremonies and camps,” Liang said. Those two “characteristics” are typically sufficient
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
RSS