Members of Congress Put Formaldehyde in Consumer Products under the Spotlight January 11, 2013 Cinnaminson, NJ, January 11, 2013 Last month, concerns over formaldehyde in a popular hair straightening product once again made national news. In December, three members of Congress sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expressing concern over the presence of formaldehyde in the products. According to reports, the members of Congress first contacted the FDA last year and asked the agency to issue a voluntary recall of the hair straightening products containing dangerous levels of the chemical. The FDA responded with a warning letter to the manufacturer of the product stating they were misbranded and adulterated and requested the company take corrective actions. Last month’s letter came about because the company has reportedly not reformulated their products. Formaldehyde is a colorless, flammable, strong-smelling chemical that is used in numerous building materials and to produce some household products. Its primary use is in the production of resins and as a chemical intermediate. It is also a by-product of combustion and certain other natural processes. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified formaldehyde as a potential human carcinogen. “Thousands of workers in hair salons may be at risk on a daily basis due to exposure to formaldehyde from these hair straightening products,” reported Joe Frasca, Senior Vice President, Marketing at EMSL Analytical, a leading formaldehyde testing laboratory. “Not only are workers at risk, but customers at hair salons are also being exposed to dangerous levels of this chemical. EMSL provides both product testing, to determine the presence of formaldehyde in consumer goods, as well as air sampling analysis to assist in monitoring for its presence in the air people breathe.”