Packaging on air fresheners does not list out chemicals used

PETALING JAYA: Most air freshener brands do not provide a full list of the chemicals and ingredients used in their products, said the Malaysian Association of Standards Users.

“None of the (six brands of) air fresheners that were tested had a list of ingredients on the labelling.

“The Government must ensure manufacturers provide the full list of ingredients on the labelling. This information is important to customers who should be warned about dangerous chemicals,” said its CEO Ratna Devi Nadarajan.

The six air fresheners were tested for four major chemicals – toluene, benzene, formaldehyde and phthalates.

For each brand of air freshener tested, 100ml of the product was sent to a lab in Bukit Jelutong near here for testing.

Three of the products were found to have toluene, with one containing up to 1.3mg/kg while the others were all found to contain phtalates.

One of the products was found to have an extremely high level of Diethyle Phtalates (517mg/kg).

Ratna said one of the products was in a container shaped like a soft drink can.

“This is very dangerous as children may unknowingly consume the content thinking it is a canned drink,” she said.

In a recently released report, State of the Science of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals 2012, the United Nations Environment Pro­gramme and the World Health Organisation warned of the health risks posed by EDS.

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