Carbon-14 Test Shows Biobased Content of Skincare Products
A recent edition of Personal Care North America features Beta Analytic’s article highlighting the importance of Carbon-14 testing in the skincare industry.
Consumers increasingly seek eco-friendly skincare products that include natural “biobased” ingredients and are marked with certifications and eco-labels. In response to the demand, manufacturers are formulating products with biobased ingredients. But how do they prove it?
Haley Gershon of Beta Analytic explains that to verify and demonstrate to customers that products indeed contain biobased ingredients, manufacturers often consult an ISO 17025-accredited carbon-14 dating lab for “natural vs synthetic” testing. After submitting samples, the lab performs carbon-14 analysis using an accelerator mass spectrometer. Depending on the amount of carbon-14 present, the percentage of biobased content is calculated.
Measuring a product ingredient’s biobased content acts as a powerful marketing and communications tool for companies to demonstrate their eco-friendliness and qualify products for biobased eco-labels, Ms. Gershon notes.
Recognizable certification schemes for biobased products include the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) BioPreferred Program®, in which eligible products can display the USDA Certified Biobased Product label.
Ms. Gershon is Marketing Manager at Florida-based Beta Analytic. The full article can be found in pages 18-19 of Personal Care North America May 2020 edition.
This entry was posted on Friday, May 15th, 2020 and is filed under Biobased Products, Natural Product Testing .