Striving for accuracy in bitterant labeling Product package claims have been and always will be an issue that attracts attention from regulators and consumers alike. In the retail market, there is constant effort devoted toward establishing consistent rules to help avoid confusion or misrepresentation by product package claims. Inhalant abuse is a serious issue for our industry, and combating the abuse of our products is not easy. However, product labeling is one issue the National Aerosol Association (NAA) can speak to. The NAA has been approached to address labeling claims for one particular aerosol product category: Compressed Gas Dusters. Dusters are often one of the products abused in the practice called “huffing”—deliberately inhaling aerosol vapors for a high. Currently, some manufacturers of dusters add a bitterant to the container, which is intended to act as a deterrent for people who might abuse these products. As packaging requirements are currently written, there is no standard or regulation for the identification or level of the bitterant utilized in a product if the package is labeled as containing a bitterant. The NAA is not attempting to dictate to manufacturers that a bitterant is mandatory for its products, but to set a standard for the minimum and maximum amount of bitterant that needs to be in a can that is labeled as containing bitterant. There are circumstances where some labels state a bitterant is added but the product either does not contain enough bitterant to be detected or contains none at all. Likewise, some manufacturers add too much bitterant, which can cause unpleasant reactions from typical users. Therefore, NAA would be pursuing a standard for products claiming to have a bitterant; such products would have to have sufficient levels of bitterant in an attempt to deter abusers and provide the consistency represented by the claim. By working on this issue, NAA will help consumers and retailers with truthful and consistent product labeling. A new NAA ad hoc committee has been established to work on this project and welcomes either participation or input on this industry issue. If there is any interest in pursuing this mission, please contact Mary Metzner at naa@nationalaerosol.com. Spray 22 Spray May 2014
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