Fw: MAD COW ON OIUR FACE AND IN YOUR HAIR.

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Sunday, August 01, 2004 11:31 AM

MAD COW ON OIUR FACE AND IN YOUR HAIR.

 

 

- JDC

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Mad Cow Disease in Cosmetics?

PAULA BEGOUN - www.cosmeticscop.com

 

Mad Cow Disease and the risk it poses for humans (and, of course, animals) has affected a number of countries, including England, Canada, and now the United States. Mad Cow Disease (technically known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE) is a chronic degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system of cattle. The concern for humans is the risk of eating meat or meat products that contain the BSE pathogen. When the BSE pathogen takes hold in people, it can trigger a variant form of the disease called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) or variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), named after the researchers who identified it. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov) "… in the United Kingdom, this current risk [of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease] appears to be extremely small, perhaps about 1 case per 10 billion servings [of beef]." It also states that "Milk and milk products from cows are not believed to pose any risk for transmitting the BSE agent." While the human toll is infinitesimally small when compared with many other known potentially serious diseases, from malaria to AIDS and even the flu, scientists and the public are still concerned. While it is important to pay attention to the issue of Mad Cow Disease in relation to eating beef products, the question is whether or not bovine-derived ingredients used in cosmetics can harbor the disease and cause health risks. The answer is that no one knows for sure, but theoretically a remote possible risk does exist. Some researchers feel that there is no evidence BSE can be contracted through the skin (Source: Cosmetic Dermatology, December 2001, pages 43–47); however, neither cooking, preserving, or any of the other processing most cosmetics go through can eliminate BSE pathogens. That means if animal by-products are used in cosmetics (in particular placenta and spleen bovine extracts), they can pose a risk, albeit remote, to the user. The British BSE Committee (http://www.bse.org.uk/) in varying reports has mentioned a concern that people could become infected if the creams were used on broken skin. It is important to realize that very few products use animal-derived ingredients. Even collagen and elastin, which in the past were routinely derived from cow skin, are now almost entirely derived from plants. If you are thinking of buying any cosmetics that contain animal organ extracts of any kind, you may want to reconsider, or discard them if you have already made a purchase, particularly those products containing extracts of spleen, placenta, or other animal tissue. Other than that, at this point, I feel strongly that it isn't necessary to worry about the other ingredients on your cosmetics labels. Aside from the evidence, which does not point to a single case of BSE associated with cosmetics, checking the ingredient label wouldn't be of much help anyway because there is no way to know whether the collagen or ceramide in your product is sourced from animals or plants. I want to stress that from all the research that is out there, this appears to be a negligible issue for your beauty routine. Paula Begoun