Propylene Glycol
Propylene Glycol or PG is a colorless, odorless liquid that is formed from a derivative of natural gas. Many of you may have not heard of this product before, but I bet that you either use or possibly eat something made from it.
What is made from Propylene Glycol?
Before I get into what exactly this compound is, I thought I would share with you some of the products that it is used in. Some of the typical products that you may have found PG in include:
- Cosmetics
- Deodorants
- Lotions
- Shampoos
- Toothpaste
- Processed Foods
- Pet foods
- Food Coloring Solvent
These products all are either applied to our bodies or consumed by either us or our pets, so this stuff must be safe, right? Well, I want to further list some of the common products that also contain propylene glycol that may make you want to check every ingredient label you use:
- Anti-freeze
- De-icers
- Cooling Agent
- Engine Coolant
- Paintball
- Floor Wax
- Pest Killing and Preserving Agent
- Cigarettes
Why is use Propylene Glycol?
Why are so many products that we use so often made from this stuff? Well, the main reason that it is used is to retain moisture so that they don’t dry out. It makes sense that many of the products listed require that they retain their moisture for longer and better use. That’s why some lotions are able to stay in a more moist state instead of drying out quickly. In some of the other instances like anti-freeze, it actually reduces the freezing point of water in particular pipes so that they don’t freeze and break.
Is it Safe?
The FDA actually has said that propylene glycol is “generally recognized as safe” to be used as a food additive in human foods and most pet foods. Even though there were regulations in 1995 to end its use in cat food, it is considered still “safe” in all other pet foods. It’s not a good sign that the FDA outlawed its use in cat food, yet they still allow humans and other types of animals to still consume it. Just from the fact that they don’t allow cats to eat this stuff, I will make sure that nothing I eat has PG in it. This is the problem with having too many processed foods. Foods that would dry out really quickly need products like PG added to it to maintain a moist state.
Propylene glycol can have a variety of potential health risk in both food and external applications such as lotion and deodorant. It can cause serious skin conditions in some people, especially those that have eczema. It can cause intestinal and lung irritation if ingested or inhaled. It does depend on the how concentrated the amount is that you are exposed to as to how severe the symptoms are.
My biggest concern with PG is that there does not seem to have been enough studies done on it considering that it is used in so many products we use. I would just use caution when using or eating something with PG in it. Check all labels and see if it contains PG and try to avoid it at all costs. Try to use comparable products with safer ingredients or more natural products that do not require such ingredients in them.
Other Names
There are other names to watch out for when checking labels. They include:
- Propylene glycol UPS/EP – Pharmaceutical grade used in health sensitive applications as a food agent.
- Ethylene glycol – Similar product but much more dangerous and extremely toxic.
- Methyl glycol
- Methylethyl glycolp
- Monopropylene glycol
- Polypropylene glycol
- Trimethyl glycol
