Harm of wet tissue

Recently, another news went viral on the Internet: CCTV @ First Time reporter survey: Most wet wipes contain propylene glycol, benzalkonium chloride and other ingredients. "Propylene glycol" is a low toxic chemical solvent. If you wipe your hands with a wet tissue for a long time, and then take something to eat, it will lead to toxic substances entering the gastrointestinal tract, which poses a safety hazard. In addition, due to the high solubility of propylene glycol, about 5% people will have allergic reactions, and long-term use will cause harm to the skin.

Tips for rational analysis 1 When you see a piece of news, you must grasp the core of the problem. In fact, what matters is not wet tissues, but propylene glycol and benzalkonium chloride. Why should we emphasize this point? Let's take propylene glycol as an example to explain.

Propylene glycol is a chemical reagent, which can be mixed with water, ethanol and various organic solvents. Propylene glycol can be used as the raw material of unsaturated polyester resin, and can be used as wetting agent in cosmetics, toothpaste and soap in combination with glycerol or sorbitol. It is used as humidity regulator and hair leveler in hair dyes, as well as antifreeze, cellophane, plasticizer and pharmaceutical industry. In the application field, the proportion of propylene glycol used in food, medicine and cosmetics is 20%. Propylene glycol is growing rapidly in cosmetics and liquid detergents, and is widely used in antiperspirant, deodorant, sunscreen, shaving cream and beauty cream. [1] It can be seen that propylene glycol is widely distributed in various fields of daily necessities. If it's really dangerous, it's not just giving up wet wipes.

Regarding the statement that "toxic substances enter the gastrointestinal tract", let's take a look at the wide use of propylene glycol in food: it is mainly used as a solvent for various spices, pigments and preservatives, and also as an extraction solvent for vanilla beans, roasted coffee beans and natural spices. Moisturizing softener for candy, bread, packaged meat and cheese. It can also be used as an anti-mildew additive for noodles and fillings. Adding 0.006% to soybean milk can keep the flavor unchanged when heating, and make white and shiny packaged tofu, but the volume will expand when frying. It has strong hygroscopicity and has moisturizing and antifreeze effects on food. [2] So, does it make sense to simply avoid wet tissues?

Of course, using it much and widely does not necessarily mean absolute safety. Having said that, is propylene glycol poisonous?

Rational analysis skill 2: toxic or not, this is a relative concept and cannot be generalized. Drinking too much water will lead to death. Is water "toxic"? So in fact, we only care about whether the exposure dose under normal circumstances is harmful to the human body. This can also be seen from the toxicity grading standard:

Classification standard of acute oral toxicity of compounds

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Classification of acute toxicity of exotic compounds (WHO)

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Compared with the above table, the toxicological data of propylene glycol are: acute toxicity oral LD50 >；; 2000 mg/kg, rats. [3] Therefore, it belongs to low toxicity. Low toxicity means that the lethal dose of a person weighing 70KG is 35 ~ 350 g g, and the content of propylene glycol in wet tissues is far from reaching.

In addition, according to the latest food additive standard in China, the maximum dosage of propylene glycol is 3.0g/kg.

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Standard for the use of propylene glycol food additives

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It is believed that compared with this oral dose, the contents of Hand & rarr food and rarr propylene glycol entering the body after wet application of tissues are absolutely safe.

After explaining propylene glycol, it is much easier to look at benzalkonium chloride.

Benzalkonium chloride is a broad-spectrum bactericide with quaternary ammonium cation surface activity, which has strong bactericidal power, no irritation to skin and tissues, and no corrosion to metal and rubber products. Dilute solution is widely used for disinfection of hands, skin, mucous membranes and instruments. 0.0 1% solution was used for wound disinfection, and 0. 1% solution was used for skin disinfection and surgical instruments disinfection. [3] The lethal dose of human oral administration is about 1-3g. [4]

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Report screenshot

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As can be seen from the online screenshots, the content of benzalkonium chloride in wet wipes (pictured) is only for skin disinfection, and it is safe to use as long as it is away from sensitive parts such as eyes and wounds.

Finally, about the allergic reaction mentioned in the news: people with allergies need to look at the list of raw materials to determine whether there are allergens, which has nothing to do with propylene glycol or benzalkonium chloride itself.

Conclusion The composition of wet tissue is relatively complex, and whether some substances are harmful to human body needs to be carefully investigated according to the idea provided by Tadpole Jun. However, propylene glycol and benzalkonium chloride contained in wet wipes will not have adverse effects on human body under normal circumstances. In order to ensure that the manufacturer does not cut corners and that the substance and content marked on the wet tissue package are consistent with the actual situation, it is recommended that you buy products with national certification produced by regular manufacturers.

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References:

[1] Zheng Jun. 1, 2 Production status and development prospect of propylene glycol at home and abroad [J]. Thermosetting resin, 2009,01:58-62.

[2] from a chemistry book

[3]? Zhang Xiaoyou, Dong Shuhua [M]. Heilongjiang: Heilongjiang Science and Technology Press, 2000: 142.

[4] Jing Yao. Guide to the application of pharmaceutical excipients [M]. Beijing: China Medical Science and Technology Press, 20 1 1: 162.

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Author: Tadpole Jun