what sort of animal testing takes place and what alternatives are available?
- The main animal testing carried out for toiletries and cosmetics are: Tests to see if substances irritate eyes (the Draize test) and skin. These are usually carried out on rabbits.
- Tests for skin sensitivity (a form of allergy testing) and photosensitivity (abnormal sensitivity to sunlight). These normally use guinea pigs.
- Toxicity tests (whether a substance is harmful) to humans, animals and the environment. This usually involves rats, mice and fish.
- The effects on the animals can range from mildly unpleasant to extremely unpleasant, depending on the substance tested and the type of test done. Indeed, some tests can result in the death of the animal concerned.
There are a number of alternative non-animal tests which have helped enormously in reducing the number of animal tests over the past few years. These involve cell and tissue culture, computer models and assessment of the chemical properties of a substance.
There are a number of alternative non-animal tests which have helped enormously in reducing the number of animal tests over the past few years.
Computer models and assessment of chemical properties are not alternatives to animal tests in the same way as cell and tissue cultures are. They can be used as an indication of safety of finished products where animal test data already exists for the chemicals/ingredients concerned and for similar, chemical compounds.
The use of alternative tests such as screens in the early stages of product development has helped reduce both the number and severity of animal tests, as the most harmful ingredients are discarded rather than having to be tested on animals.
Where there is already sufficient evidence that a substance is not harmful, human volunteers can also be used to check for minor and specific irritancy problems etc. The list of tests is very different for other product sectors which are subject to different rules and regulations. Safety testing, including toxicity testing, and efficacy tests is more prevalent.
For example, pesticides and insecticides are tested to check they kill the pests or insects concerned before they are marketed. The same is true of disinfectants and antiseptics but the target organisms are micro-organisms. To warn people of the relative dangers of household chemicals they need to be tested to assess the level of harm they might cause.