AAVS News
December 20, 2023
Tell FDA: No Animal Testing in My Sunscreen!
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could soon require the use of animals to test certain ingredients in sunscreens, despite not having done so for several years. Thousands of mice and rats would suffer needlessly and some cruelty-free companies that many compassionate consumers rely on could be forced to conduct animal tests, change their formulations, or stop selling their products.
Tell the FDA that animal tests are not needed to show sunscreen ingredients are safe!
In recent years, the FDA has given the development and use of non-animal methods more attention and the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act signed into law in 2022, gives the agency regulatory discretion in accepting non-animal testing data to show products are safe. If the FDA wants to review the safety of sunscreen ingredients, it should re-examine information that has already been produced or conduct new testing that relies on the best science available—alternatives utilizing human tissue and cells that generate data most applicable to human conditions. Requiring new animal tests simply does not make sense and would result in needless animal suffering.
Tell the FDA that you don’t want animal testing in your sunscreen!
Other News
Despite several appeals, a European Court has ordered the German company Symrise to conduct animal tests on two previously approved chemicals used as UV filters in sunscreen products. The court decided that the animal testing is required if ordered by the agency that implements REACH, the main chemical law in the European Union (EU). This ruling weakens another EU law, the decades-long ban on animal tested cosmetics, and it could be creating some pressure on the FDA as it considers sunscreen testing, mentioned above.
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The safety of chemicals in food has traditionally been assessed using animal tests, but a promising alternative could change that. The European Food Safety Authority, working along with other scientists, has developed the TKPlate, an online platform that can model and predict risk assessments for toxicokinetics, or how the body processes a chemical. Said one scientist, science advisory groups are “lining up to deliver risk assessments with [alternatives]” and all decision-making is “based on sound science.”
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Sanctuary Moment
Project Chimps
All of us at AAVS have been overwhelmed by the enormous generosity shown by our supporters in donating to this year’s BUILD IT! matching campaign to benefit the Project Chimps sanctuary. Thanks to your care and concern for nearly 100 chimpanzees waiting at the New Iberia Research Center (NIRC) for a new home, we raised $35,000, which will be matched thanks to generous anonymous supporters, making a grand total of $70,000! These funds will help fill an immediate need to pay for the cost of constructing new habitats and indoor living areas for these very deserving chimpanzees.
We know that living in an enriching sanctuary environment will help these chimpanzees start a new life, just like Leo has done. He was born at NIRC, taken from the care of his mom, and was hooked up to electrodes to study the origins of human bipedal locomotion. But now Leo is enjoying sanctuary life and all it has to offer, including the companionship of other chimpanzees.
Thank you again for supporting BUILD IT! Your generosity will make a difference for chimpanzees no longer used in research.
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