Peanut oils in sun screens

Although there is now a greater general awareness that many processed foods include peanut-based ingredients, some people may not be aware that peanut-based extracts and oils are often used in cosmetics and toiletries.

Hydrogenated peanut oil, for example, is a key ingredient in sunscreen products but mislabeling is rampant, due to the fact that regulations in the US and Europe do not specify that peanut extracts must be declared on cosmetics and toiletries, as they have to be for all types of food.

One skin care company in particular, Clarins, has been strongly criticised recently by the US-based National Toxic Encephalopathy Foundation, which claims that they use peanut oil in five of their products.

Companies may claim that their products are 'safe' and 'natural', or 'allergy tested', but such claims do not have to be based on any assessment of possible reactions to peanut.

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First published in April 2007

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