ABSTRACT
Products for personal care are unique in that there is direct and long-term human
dermal and possibly inhalation exposure. The specific aspect of ingredients that
are produced by using recombinant organisms is that they comprise peptides, pro-
teins, and enzymes. According to a few reports, the major concern of human
exposure seems to be sensitization after long-term dermal contact or exposure
via inhalation. Basically, the same criteria as those for other chemicals apply
for hazard identification and risk assessment, and consumer and workplace
exposure. Because there are no specific regulations for personal care products
obtained from recombinant organisms, it is the aim of this chapter to evaluate
which data are necessary for hazard identification and risk assessment and to con-
clude which experimental and human studies are considered necessary for risk
assessment and regulation of such materials. This chapter provides a toxicolo-
gist’s view on the safety assessment of such material.