Article: Australia battles on in defense of tea tree oil

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Australia battles on in defence of tea tree oil

 

13/06/2005 - The Australian Tea Tree Industry

(ATTI)says it is confident that it can convince EU

authorities over the safety of tea tree oil for use in

cosmetics products. The announcement comes following a

European Commission report asking for proof that it is

safe for topical purpose, reports Simon Pitman.

 

At the beginning of this year a European Commission

scientific panel called on cosmetic companies to prove

that tea tree oil is safe following studies indicating

that the oil can prove an irritant to certain skin

types. The report also showed that the ingredient's

efficacy depletes rapidly upon exposure to sunlight

and that it becomes more volatile.

 

Christopher Dean, ATTI head of the technical and

safety committee said that only a very small amount of

the oil was needed to make it effective in cosmetic

applications. Speaking to Australian press he said he

was confident that 1 - 3 percent was more than enough

for most formulations.

 

The association said that a number of complaints in

Norway had been made about tea tree oil, which had

sparked off the demands to prove its safety. But the

industry says it is spending millions of dollars in an

effort to prove that the oil is safe to use as an

ingredient in cosmetics.

 

Currently the EU is threatening to bloc cosmetic

products with more than 1 percent tea tree oil in the

formulation unless scientific evidence can prove its

safety by the end of the year.

 

Last month ATTI said that its first research again

showed that Australian tea tree oil has no mutagenic

potential.

 

The research, carried out through the Australian

Government research corporation, RIRDC, demonstrated

that Australian tea tree oil displays no mutagenic

potential (in accordance with the international

protocol OECD474).

 

" These results were in agreement with previous studies

which showed that Australian tea tree oil was non

mutagenic when tested using the internationally

recognised Ames protocolm, " a statement from the

association said.

 

Currently tea tree oil is not regulated by the

European Commission for cosmetic applications, which

is why the scientific panel has undertaken its

research work.

 

The essential oil is a complex mixture of compounds

obtained by distillation from the leaves and twigs of

the Australian tea tree. Currently the quality of the

infusion is regulated by the Australian Standard and

the German Drugs Code as to the level of individual

ingredients.

 

Tea tree oil is widely used to treat acne, eczema,

skin infections such as herpes and minor wounds, warts

and insect bites, due mainly to its widely known

antimicrobial properties.

 

The product is sold in highly concentrated forms as an

essential oil, but is also included in a variety of

cosmetic products, including skincare and body

products, toothpaste, mouthwash and aromatherapy

treatments. Many of the leading cosmetic companies,

such as The Body Shop, use tea tree oil in a variety

of the skin care products. This means that the

European Commission's ultimatum is likely to cause

consternation in the industry, with many of the

leading players likely to step up their testing of the

ingredient in the coming months.

 

Colipa, the European Cosmetic Toilety and Perfumery

Association recommends that neat tea tree oil is never

used on the skin and that skin care products should

not contain more than 1 per cent of the ingredient.

 

The Body Shop has already admitted that some of its

skin care products do contain more than 1 per cent tea

tree oil, but says that its own thorough testing

procedures have already been completed on the product

range that uses the oil.