THE CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS - IFEAT

Another interesting point is thenumber of products with tea tree oil inthem that may not comply with theINCI nomenclature for tea tree oil,which isINCI Name For Tea Tree OilInternational Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient- The Personal Care Products CouncilMelaleuca alternifolia (Tea Tree) LeafOilThe oil described here is an ingredientthat is a natural product and it comesfrom a single plant.Melaleuca alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil• It is a Natural Product from a Single Plant• Product manufacturers using adulterated teatree oil cannot use the INCI name on theirproduct labelsWe have a small gift here for youfrom Integria Healthcare of Australia.It’s a tea tree foam face wash undertheir successful Thursday Plantationbrand. If you get hold of one of these you will clearly see the correct description of the ingredient onthe packaging.This poses a real problem for manufacturers who use adulterated tea tree oil and sell their product incountries that have adopted the INCI standards. At the very least they will not be able to identify teatree as an active ingredient to avoid being in breach of these standards.It makes little commercial sense to us and we suspect that manufacturers must not be aware that theyare being sold adulterated tea tree oil or the commercial risk they may be facing because of this.So let me crystallize the issue as we see it:On the one hand you have:What Is The IssuePure Australian tea tree oilThis is a 100% natural product made up ofover 113 components. The INCInomenclature specifies this as oil from aspecified plant. This pure oil was the basisfor the research done to establish“efficacy” and “safety”. This knowledgeand confidence has promoted the use oftea tree oil in personal care products.On the other hand you have:Pure AustralianTea Tree OilAdulterated TeaTree Oil113+ ComponentsNaturalFewer than 15componentsBlended orextendedThe basis forresearch work &INCI referencePersonal careproducts relyingon establishedresearch to makeclaimsNo supportingresearch to baseclaims onNo disclosure tomanufacturer orconsumerAdulterated tea tree oilThere is no disclosure that it is adulterated or what the source material of the adulteration is.There is no research to support what the efficacy or safety is for adulterated oil.The public is not being warned of this risk.277