US regulators out of the loop on chemical risk

[JohnyCanuck]

WHEN US cereal giant Kellogg recently recalled 28 million boxes of Froot Loops, Apple Jacks, Corn Pops and Honey Smacks, the company blamed elevated levels of a chemical in the packaging.

Dozens of consumers reported a strange taste and odour, and some complained of nausea and diarrhoea. But Kellogg said experts it hired determined that there was ''no harmful material'' in the products.

American regulators, charged with ensuring the safety of food and consumer products, are in the dark about the suspected chemical, 2-methylnaphthalene. The Food and Drug Administration has no scientific data on its impact on human health.

SNIP

In 1994, the EPA invited the chemical industry to submit health and safety data for 2-methylnaphthalene because it was being produced in large quantities, said Mary Dominiak of the EPA. Chemical manufacturers have yet to disclose that information, she said. And they may not even have it. If a manufacturer possesses data showing that a chemical harms health or the environment, it is required to turn over the findings to the EPA. Critics say that creates a disincentive for manufacturers to test their chemicals.

A component of crude oil, 2-methylnaphthalene is structurally related to naphthalene, an ingredient in mothballs and toilet-deodorant blocks that is considered a possible human carcinogen by the EPA.

http://www.theage.com.au/world/us-regulators-out-of-the-loop-on-chemical-risk-20100802-1139o.html

[KT2000]

1. So much is voluntary

and kept secret under "trade secret" protections.
There really is not much regulation of hazardous chemicals and lack of research is used to deny health problems. This is why humans in the US must use the endangered species act because certain animals can be protected but not humans.