A local consumer advocate is concerned about potential health hazards in over-the-counter products that contain activated charcoal.
"This seems to be the rage in the country now,” said Judy Braiman, president and founder of the nonprofit Empire State Consumer Project. “They're putting this in everything."
Braiman sent toothpaste, food, and supplements to a lab to be tested for the potential presence of toxins. Activated charcoal is also found in topical beauty products. Braiman said she expects to get final results in two weeks, but said preliminary data suggests that one of the toothpastes tested contained benzene, a carcinogen.
Empire State Consumer Project director Carol Chittenden said there are other questions about the use of activated charcoal.
"The other thing we don't know is: What is the source of charcoal in all these products? It could be coconut shells; it could be wood; it could be ... we don't know what else is burned to create charcoal that goes into these products."
Some foods contain activated charcoal as a colorant. Braiman said use of the ingredient is largely unregulated except for a ban on activated charcoal in food by the New York City Department of Health.
Concerns about metal-lined food containers
Braiman is also concerned about the safety of a particular type of food container lined with metal that is commonly used to sell prepared and packaged food in many stores.
She said she sent some sample containers to a lab for testing under New York's toxics in packaging regulations.
"Which means that if the sum of four heavy metals: arsenic, lead, cadmium, and hexavalent comes up to the sum of 100, it would be considered banned in New York state. In one store we tested, the sum came up to 99.18 and they couldn't take any action on it."
Braiman said her organization is talking to stores about the potential health hazard, and in her words, "they are trying to be cooperative."
Dirty Dozen
The Empire State Consumer Project released its annual pre-holiday list of toys and other products that it considers dangerous to children.
Chittenden says many of the products contain toxic materials.
"Metal jewelry, especially from China; metal or painted toys from China; soft plastic toys from China; art materials that aren't labeled with the ASTM (American Society for Testing Materials) standard; toys with small parts; whistles, tiny harmonicas, and any toy meant to go in the mouth."
Chittenden also cautions against the use of toys with high-powered magnets and pacifiers with plush animals attached to them. She calls them a choking hazard.
