Lung Association welcomes new product labelling

Lung Association welcomes new consumer-based product labelling

(Ottawa) April 2, 2008– The Lung Association today welcomed the announcement by the Canadian Consumer Specialty Products Association that its member companies’ will voluntarily begin disclosing all ingredients in the majority of their products on the product's label, as well as on the company’s website and/or on the company’s toll-free number.

“This is an encouraging step forward by the Canadian Consumer Specialty Products Association,” said Nora Sobolov, President and CEO of The Lung Association. “Canadians deserve to know what is contained in the products that they are using in and around their homes and the effects these products have on their health.”

The Association continues to urge the CCSPA and other industry leaders to encourage all manufacturers of consumer products to provide ingredient labelling on all their products so that Canadians can make informed purchase decisions.

“The health of Canadians is paramount when it comes to the products they use and the air they breathe,” said Kenneth Maybee, Chair of Environmental Issues for The Lung Association, “We want to see industry leaders continue to take these steps forward so that Canadians can have confidence that the products they are using will not make them sick”.

The Association looks forward to the continuing development and implementation of the labeling process and strongly encourages the government to enter into agreements for foreign products as well as the monitoring and enforcement that is required. 

The announcement by the CCSPA follows a joint press release issued on March 6th by the Canadian Cancer Society, The Lung Association and the Heart and Stroke Foundation which called on the federal government to extend regulatory requirements that mandate full, visible, ingredient disclosure on all products when the product contains a toxic or carcinogenic ingredient.

Established in 1900, The Lung Association is one of Canada’s oldest and most respected health charities, and the leading national organization for science-based information, research, education, support programs and advocacy on lung heath issues.

Canadian Consumer Specialty Products Association

Consumer Ingredient Communication

Products included:
   - Air care products
   - Automotive products
   - Cleaning products
   - Polishes
   - Floor maintenance products

Implementation Date:  January 1, 2010

Communication and Tools:

Ingredients present at a concentration greater than one percent (1%) shall be listed in descending order of predominance.  Ingredients present at less than one percent shall also be listed.

An ingredient is a constituent in a consumer chemical product (intentionally added ingredients) not including incidental ingredients that have no technical or functional effect in the product.

Ingredients will be identified by one of the following internationally recognized identification systems:
   - International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients (INCI) name, and/or
   - International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) name, and/or
   - Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) name, and/or
   - Common chemical name.

Fragrances, dyes, and preservatives will be identified as “Fragrances”, “Dyes”, and “Preservatives”.

Ingredients shall be communicated on the product label, the company’s website, the company’s toll free number or other non-electronic means. 

CCSPA is a national trade association that represents 47 member companies across Canada, collectively a $20 billion industry directly employing 12,000 people in over 100 facilities. Our companies manufacture, process, package and distribute consumer, industrial and institutional specialty products such as soaps and detergents, pest control products, aerosols, hard surface disinfectants, sanitizers, deodorizers and automotive chemicals.

This is a proactive and voluntary initiative to meet the changing needs of consumers in Canada.