By Serena Ng
Several U.S. makers of concentrated laundry-detergent packets
will soon coat the product in a foul-tasting substance, the latest
in a series of measures aimed at reducing the poisoning risk to
young children.
Sun Products Corp., the maker of All Mighty Pacs, and Cot'n Wash
Inc., which makes liquid laundry packets under the Dropps brand,
said they would add an "aversive agent" to the soluble film coating
their single-dose laundry packets by the end of September, company
executives said. The substance would have a bitter or repulsive
taste and is meant to deter young children from biting into the
laundry packets.
Procter & Gamble Co., which makes over 75% of the laundry
packets sold in the U.S., said it would also add a bitter taste to
the outer layer of its Tide Pods, Gain Flings, and Ariel Pods in
North America this fall, and plans to step up its advertising
campaigns on other safety measures.
Some of the American manufacturers plan to use Bitrex, a
bitter-tasting substance that is commonly used in household
cleaning products. Gina Mercier, an executive at Johnson Matthey
PLC, which makes Bitrex, said the company is currently in talks
with multiple U.S. detergent brands about using the chemical.
The moves are in response to high rates of accidental exposures
to laundry packets across the U.S. and follow similar steps taken
recently by consumer-products manufacturers in Europe. European
regulations required use of an aversive agent beginning in June.
Manufacturers also have to make it harder for the packets to burst
and release their contents, among other safety measures. P&G is
among companies adhering to the standards in Europe, where it also
has a large laundry business.
In the U.S., more than 33,000 children aged five and under have
been accidentally exposed to the contents of laundry packets since
the products were rolled out widely in 2012, according to cases
logged by poison centers across the country. Most of the cases
resulted in minor injuries, but hundreds of children were
hospitalized for more-severe symptoms such as profuse vomiting,
corneal abrasions and breathing problems. Some children were so
sick they had to be intubated to help them breathe.
At least seven people have died after ingesting the contents of
laundry packets, including children and elderly adults with
dementia who may have mistaken the ping-pong-ball-size laundry
packets for food or candy.
After accident rates spiked in 2012 and 2013, U.S. manufacturers
made several modifications to the packaging of their products and
sponsored educational campaigns on how to use them properly. They
switched from clear containers to opaque ones, enlarged warning
icons and in some cases made the lids of their containers harder to
open. Those moves helped level the rates of accidental exposures,
but the numbers remain high, which has pressured manufacturers to
take additional safety measures.
U.S. consumer goods manufacturers have been working with
consumer safety advocates for more than a year on a set of
voluntary standards that could include changes to the laundry
packets themselves, in addition to external packaging changes. The
options discussed include adding an aversive agent and other steps
similar to those taken in Europe. A vote on the standards is
expected in the coming weeks.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission provided input into
the standards and will closely monitor their effectiveness, CSPC
Chairman Elliot Kaye said. The CPSC has authority to enact
mandatory standards if industry can't come up with effective
voluntary measures.
Write to Serena Ng at serena.ng@wsj.com
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