Environmental Health in Israel | 2014

Progress and Challenges  The new Israeli cosmetics regulation (which has yet to be approved by the Knesset) states specific requirements regarding use of nano-materials and prohibits the use of toxic ingredients listed as carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic for reproduction according to the European Cosmetics Directive.  There are very limited available data on the chemical content or contamination of consumer products. For most products, there is no labeling requirement on the product itself to inform the consumer whether the product meets the relevant standard. This is however available on the Standards Institution of Israel website. For consumer products such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products, there is no requirement to label content of chemicals such as phthalates and triclosan. Pharmaceuticals and personal care products do require labeling stating that the product has been approved by the MoH.  Since the MoE is currently responsible for determining whether standards are voluntary or mandatory, there is a need to re-evaluate the MoH role in guaranteeing implementation of health protective standards.  Enforcement of official standards regarding chemical contaminants in consumer products should be a priority. The limited enforcement efforts that do exist are focused on imported consumer products, not locally produced goods. In 2011, the State Comptroller described considerable challenges regarding supervision of imported toys with regard to the requirements in Standard 562. The recent addition of 30 inspectors at the MoE is expected to improve enforcement of official standards regarding chemical contaminants in imported consumer products. Environmental Health in Israel 2014  Chapter 7 References (1) I srael Ministry of Health (2013). Medical administration notice No. 23/2013: Cease of use of medical equipment holding mercury – Thermometers and Sphygmomanometers (Hebrew). http://www.health.gov.il/hozer/mr23_2013.pdf (retrieved July 2014). (2) Ostapenko, I. (2012). Phthalates concentration in child use and care articles: Preliminary screening of the Israeli market. Oral presentation, EHF conference from science to policy: Environment and health in Israel. http://www.ehf.org.il/sites/default/files/u9/Ivan%20Otapenko%20updated_13.1.pdf (retrieved July 2014). (3) The Standards Institution of Israel. Israeli Standard. https://portal.sii.org.il/eng/standardization/israelistandards/.aspx (retrieved July 2014). (4) The State Comptroller and Ombudsman Israel (2012). Collection of reports for 2011, Chapter two: Israel ministry of industry, trade and labor – The standards institute of Israel (Hebrew). http://www.mevaker.gov.il/he/Reports/Report_138/f846e99b-c35c-4fe7-976a-2bbce22fa41a/7236.pdf (retrieved July 2014). - 56 -