Dishes and cutlery correctly cleaned can be used without restrictions

Published at 21.12.2022

The manufacturers of washing, care and cleaning products point out that cutlery, glasses, dinnerware and cookware correctly cleaned in dishwashers can be used without hesitation. For the manufacturers of these products, the health of people and the protection of the environment have top priority.

At the beginning of December 2022, a press release from the University of Zurich on the ingredients of rinse aids used in dishwashers caused uncertainty. The press release reported on a study in which ingredients of rinse aids had an effect on isolated intestinal cells in laboratory experiments. The aim was to simulate what happens when residues of rinse aid ingredients are ingested with food or beverages during the use of machine-washed dishes and reach the intestine.

Under the conditions of these laboratory experiments, so-called alcohol ethoxylates, which are used in many rinse aids, are said to be able to damage isolated intestinal cells. Manufacturers of detergents, maintenance products and cleaning agents point out that the
concentrations used in the study's experiments are about a thousand times higher than the concentrations that can occur in people's intestines during normal use of machine-rinsed dishes. The authors of the study from the University of Zurich themselves emphasize that
they have no findings from patients according to which ingredients of rinse aids have damaged the intestines of humans. Alcohol ethoxylates are substances that have been used for many years and have been
extensively toxicologically tested. The results of these tests show that the proper use of the substances, e.g. in rinse aids, is harmless.

Frankfurt am Main, Wien, Zürich, 9 December 2022

  • Industrieverband Körperpflege- und Waschmittel e.V. (IKW)
  • Industrieverband Hygiene und Oberflächenschutz für industrielle und institutionelle
  • Anwendung e. V. (IHO)
  • Fachverband der Chemischen Industrie Oesterreich (FCIO)
  • The Swiss Cosmetic and Detergent Association (SKW), Contact Dr. Bernard Cloëtta, Director General bernard.cloetta@skw-cds.ch