Triclosan – health impacts and antimicrobial resistance? 

Major international health authorities have reviewed the safety of triclosan.

For example, the Australian regulator NICNAS (now AICIS) conducted a full risk assessment on triclosan and released a 2009 report², concluding that: 
• ‘Under normal conditions of consumer use, the risk of adults and children being exposed to levels of triclosan that would lead to chronic health effects is low.'
• ‘The risk to the public of inhalation toxicity, skin, eye or respiratory irritation is low because of the low concentrations of triclosan in cosmetic and personal care products.’
• ‘The available data in humans and animals provide no evidence that triclosan has the potential to cause harm to breastfed babies.’ NICNAS also emphasised that breast milk was likely to be the lowest source of triclosan exposure to babies.

NICNAS recommended a maximum level of triclosan in cosmetics and personal care products. This was set at 0.3% by the Advisory Committee on Chemicals Scheduling, with triclosan included on Schedule 6 of the Poisons Standard.³  

What is the Poisons Standard?

Ingredients that are more hazardous, at certain or any concentrations, are included on the Poisons Standard. 

This national classification system controls how chemicals are made available to the public and any mandatory safety warnings on labels. 

The Canadian government considers that ‘triclosan is not a health risk at current levels of exposure’ (0.3% in all cosmetics, 0.03% in mouthwashes)⁴ and that ‘there’s no evidence that products with triclosan cause antimicrobial resistance’⁵.

In Europe, triclosan is on the list of preservatives allowed in cosmetic products.⁶ Its safety has been assessed several times by the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS). Currently, triclosan is permitted in toothpastes, hand soaps, body soaps, shower gels, non-spray-on deodorants, face powders and concealers, and nail cleaners at a maximum of 0.3%, with toothpastes to carry a warning that they are not for use by children under three.

So, regulators around the world have established limits to ensure that products containing this ingredient pose no threat to your (or your children’s health). 

In the USA, triclosan (and some other ingredients) are banned from antibacterial hand wash products for household and clinical settings.⁷ Consumer hand wipes are still permitted to contain triclosan.

But the regulator said this decision was based on a lack of information rather than any new evidence of safety concerns. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stated that ‘[A]ntibacterial hand and body wash manufacturers did not provide the necessary data to establish safety and effectiveness for the 19 active ingredients addressed in this final rulemaking’. As a result, the FDA decided that ‘manufacturers did not demonstrate that the ingredients are both safe for long-term daily use and more effective than plain soap and water in preventing illness and the spread of certain infections’.

The Australian regulator is aware of this decision but has not deemed it necessary to take this action in Australia.