Potassium Tallate
What Is It?
Tall Oil Acid, a clear, pale yellow liquid, is a byproduct of wood pulp. Ammonium Tallate, Potassium Tallate and Sodium Tallate are salts of Tall Oil Acid. In cosmetics and personal care products, Tall Oil Acid and its salts may be used in hair dyes and bleaches, shampoos, skin cleansing preparations and shaving cream.
Why Is It Used?
Tall Oil Acid and its salts clean skin and hair by helping water to mix with oil and dirt so that they can be rinsed away. These ingredients also help to form emulsions by reducing the surface tension of the substances to be emulsified.
Scientific Facts
Tall Oil Acid is a mixture of fatty acids and rosin acids that is obtained from tall oil, a byproduct from the pulping of pine trees. Ammonium Tallate, Potassium Tallate and Sodium Tallate are salts of Tall Oil Acid.
Safety Information
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) permits Tall Oil Acid and its ammonium and sodium salts to be uses as indirect food additives for use in components of coatings. The safety of Tall Oil Acid, Ammonium Tallate, Potassium Tallate and Sodium Tallate has been assessed by the Cosmetic Ingredient ReviewThe Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) was established in 1976 as an independent safety review program for cosmetic ingredients. The CIR Expert Panel consists of independent experts in dermatology, toxicology, pharmacolgy and veterinary medicine. The CIR includes participation by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and the Consumer Federation of America. (CIR) Expert Panel. The CIR Expert Panel evaluated the scientific data and concluded that Tall Oil Acid and it salts were safe for use in cosmetic and personal care products.
CIR Safety Review:
The fatty acids found in Tall Oil Acid have been previously reviewed by the CIR Expert Panel. Oleic acid was assessed as safe for use in cosmetics. Oleic acid, in concentrations of 100% or 40-50% in mineral oil, was nonirritating in clinical primary and cumulative irritation studies. Single insult occlusive patch tests, soap chamber tests, and 21-day cumulative irritation studies of oleic acid in cosmetic formulations at 2-93% produced mild to intense erythema, but the results were generally not related to the fatty acidA natural organic compound that consists of a carboxyl group (oxygen, carbon and hydrogen) attached to a chain of carbon atoms with their associated hydrogen atoms. The chain of carbon atoms may be connected with single bonds, making a ‘saturated’ fat; or it may contain some double bonds, making an ‘unsaturated’ fat. The number of carbon and hydrogen atoms in the chain is what determines the qualities of that particular fatty acid. Animal and vegetable fats are made up of various combinations of fatty acids (in sets of three) connected to a glycerol molecule, making them triglycerides. concentrations. No primary or cumulative irritation or sensitization was reported in clinical repeat insult patch tests, maximization tests, and prophetic patch tests with cosmetic product formulations containing a range of concentrations of <1-14% oleic acid. Cosmetic formulations containing 1-13% oleic acid produced no photosensitization in the subjects tested. Mascara formulations containing 2% and 3% oleic acid produced no treatment-related ocular irritation in female subjects involved in 3-week exaggerated-use studies. On the basis of the data included for Tall Oil Acid and oleic acid, a common fatty acid in Tall Oil Acid, the CIR Expert Panel concluded that Tall Oil Acid, Ammonium Tallate, Potassium Tallate and Sodium Tallate were safe for use in cosmetic and personal care products.
Link to FDA Code of Federal Regulations for Tall Oil Acid and its salts http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr…
Tall Oil Acid and its salts may be used in cosmetics and personal care products marketed in Europe according to the general provisions of the Cosmetics Regulation of the European UnionUnder the general provisions of the cosmetics regulation of the EU, ingredients appearing on the following function-specific annexes must comply with the listed restrictions and/or specifications: colorants (Annex IV), preservatives (Annex V), UV filters (Annex VI) and other ingredients with specific concentration limits and/or other restrictions (Annex III). Ingredients specifically prohibited from use in cosmetic products are listed in Annex II. Other ingredients listed in the EU cosmetic ingredient database (CosIng) may be used without restrictions..
Link to the EU Cosmetic Regulation: http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/consumers/product_labelling_and_packaging/co0013_en.htm
More Scientific Information
Tall Oil Acid is a mixture of oleic, linoleic, other fatty acids and rosin acids derived from the tall oil, a byproduct of wood pulp. The fatty acids that make up Tall Oil are all considered “Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS)” food additives by the FDA.
Resources
Find out more about the regulation of Food Additives by the Food and Drug Administration
Food Ingredients and Packaging: http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/default.htm
Food Contact Substances: http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/PackagingFCS/default.htm
Substances Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS“GRAS” is an acronym for the phrase Generally Recognized As Safe. Under sections 201(s) and 409 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act), any substance that is intentionally added to food is a food additive, that is subject to premarket review and approval by FDA, unless the substance is generally recognized, among qualified experts, as having been adequately shown to be safe under the conditions of its intended use, or unless the use of the substance is otherwise excluded from the definition of a food additive.): http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/GRAS/default.htm
Search the Code of Federal Regulations http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm
EU Cosmetics Inventory http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cosmetics/cosing/