Other Concerns
Use restrictions (high) and Endocrine disruption (low)SYNONYMS
Unacceptable
Unacceptable: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient
FD&C Red 4 is a synthetic dye produced from petroleum; this dye is FDA-approved for use in food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.
Common concerns
See how this product scores for common concerns.
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LOWCancer
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LOWAllergies & Immunotoxicity
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LOWDevelopmental and Reproductive Toxicity
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HIGHUse Restrictions
Ingredient concerns
- CONCERNS
- DATA SOURCES
Products with this Ingredient
liquid hand soap | 99 products |
fragrance for women | 95 products |
body wash/cleanser | 60 products |
bath oil/salts/soak | 59 products |
exfoliant/scrub | 41 products |
shampoo | 39 products |
facial moisturizer/treatment | 37 products |
bar soap | 33 products |
moisturizer | 32 products |
body spray | 28 products |
sunless tanning | 27 products |
mask | 21 products |
conditioner | 20 products |
hand sanitizer | 20 products |
fragrance for men | 17 products |
hair treatment/serum | 13 products |
hand cream | 12 products |
facial cleanser | 12 products |
bubble bath | 11 products |
serums & essences | 9 products |
hair styling aide | 9 products |
styling gel/lotion | 9 products |
setting powder/spray | 9 products |
hair color and bleaching | 6 products |
daily use with SPF | 6 products |
toners/astringents | 5 products |
lipstick | 5 products |
blush | 4 products |
bronzer/highlighter | 3 products |
makeup primer | 3 products |
foot moisturizer | 3 products |
nail polish | 3 products |
body firming lotion | 3 products |
shaving cream | 2 products |
after shave | 2 products |
lip balm | 2 products |
cuticle treatment | 1 products |
antiperspirant/deodorant | 1 products |
recreational sunscreen | 1 products |
around-eye cream | 1 products |
nail treatment | 1 products |
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's) | 1 products |
styling mousse/foam | 1 products |
makeup remover | 1 products |
Use restrictions
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Violation of government restrictions - Banned or found unsafe for use in cosmetics | CosIng |
Violation of government restrictions - Banned or found unsafe for use in cosmetics | CTFA International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook |
Violation of government restrictions - Restricted in cosmetics; use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Color additive approved by FDA for use in cosmetics: external use only | FDA Color Additive Status |
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - any | CosIng |
Cancer
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
One or more in vitro tests on mammalian cells show positive mutation results | Open scientific literature |
Not likely to be mutagenic in humans | Open scientific literature |
Not likely to be carcinogenic in humans | Open scientific literature |
Limited or incomplete evidence of cancer according to safety/hazard data – government assessment cannot classify as human carcinogen due to data gaps | Int'l Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) - Carcinogens |
Endocrine disruption
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Associated with endocrine disruption | Open scientific literature |
Informational
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - The substance was formerly approved as a food additive but is now banned; there may be some toxicology data available. | FDA Everything Added to Food |
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - Color Additives - Batch Certified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration | CTFA International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook |
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - Color additive approved by FDA for use in cosmetics: external use only | FDA Color Additive Status |
Data gaps
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
74 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical | NLM PubMed |
Ecotoxicology
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Not suspected to be an environmental toxin | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmful | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Persistence and bioaccumulation
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Not suspected to be persistent | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Not suspected to be bioaccumulative | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
- European Commission. 2013. Cosing, the European Commission database with information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. Accessed on March 1, 2013 at http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cosmetics/cosing/ .
- CTFA (Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association). 2006. International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook, 11th Edition. Color Additive Information. Washington, DC.
- FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) 2006. Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Color Additive Status List. September 2006.
- Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
- IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer). 2008. Overall Evaluations of Carcinogenicity to Humans, as evaluated in IARC Monographs Volumes 1-99 (a total of 935 agents, mixtures and exposures).
- FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration). 2008. EAFUS [Everything Added to Food]: A Food Additive Database. FDA Office of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
- NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.
- EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
Understanding scores
Cosmetics and personal care products are not required to be tested for safety before being allowed on the market. The Skin Deep® scoring system was designed to help the public understand whether a product is safe to use or whether it contains ingredients of concern.
Every product and ingredient in Skin Deep gets a two-part score – one for hazard and one for data availability. The safest products score well by both measures, with a low hazard rating and a fair or better data availability rating.
HOW WE DETERMINE SCORESHazard score
The Skin Deep ingredient hazard score, from 1 to 10, reflects known and suspected hazards linked to the ingredients. The EWG VERIFIED™ mark means a product meets EWG’s strictest criteria for transparency and health.
Data availability
The Skin Deep data availability rating reflects the number of scientific studies about the product or ingredient in the published scientific literature.