Detergent packets called a poison risk

Study examined incidents of children ingesting soap pods.

Laundry-detergent capsules like the ones popularized by Procter & Gamble Co. ’s Tide Pods pose serious poisoning risks to young children, according to a new medical study, which calls on manufacturers to make modifications so that the products will be safer.

The study, published Monday by the journal Pediatrics, examined incidents reported in 2012 and 2013, and found that 17,230 children under six years old were exposed to laundry detergent capsules, mostly by ingesting a portion of the highly concentrated detergent contained inside the packet. About 4.4% of those children were hospitalized, and one death has been linked to the product.

A page one article in The Wall Street Journal a year ago revealed mounting incidents of accidental poisoning linked to the product.

The study, which was conducted by the Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, could put more pressure on manufacturers to adopt more aggressive measures to keep children from being exposed to the product, which typically comes in bright colors and rounded shapes that children mistake for candy.

In addition to P&G, other makers of pre-measured soap packets, known as “unit dose” in the industry, include Henkel AG , maker of the Purex brand, and Sun Products Corp., which owns the All brand.

P&G declined to comment, referring calls to the American Cleaning Institute, the trade group for the cleaning-products industry. The institute said companies have been working since 2012 to reduce the number of accidents involving children and laundry packets.

P&G itself phased in opaque containers for its Tide Pods a year ago, replacing the initial clear packages, which looked a lot like candy jars when filled with the pouches of soap, which are swirly bright blue and orange. It also added warning labels and made the containers more difficult to open.

Sun Products, maker of All Mighty Pacs, also has made changes to its product, including adding safety language to the front of packages and changing to opaque containers. In addition, it came out with a childproof tub now available at many stores, according to a spokeswoman.

Henkel didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment

The report supported such steps, but also said firms should consider reformulating the detergent inside the capsule to mitigate the severity of health problems if children do come in contact with the product.

Doctors told the Journal last year that the concentrated nature of the product heightened the risks to children who come into contact with them. Plus, they are encased in a water-soluble film and tend to burst when bitten into, shooting their contents down children’s throats. The doctors were also concerned that the formulation of the products could make them more dangerous. Some have pointed to a higher amount of surfactants in the laundry capsules relative to regular detergent as a possible cause. Surfactants are compounds like soap that help oil and dirt dissolve in water.

Children have sampled regular laundry detergent over the years without much incident, since they usually were turned off by the taste before they could ingest enough to cause problems, poison-control experts have said.

The laundry industry says parents need to be part of the solution. According to a survey by the American Cleaning Institute, just 34% of households store their unit-dose laundry packets in a cabinet or lock it away. Most people who responded to the survey said they keep the products well within arm’s reach of children.

The unit-dose detergent market exploded in 2012 following the launch of Tide Pods.

Sales of unit-dose laundry detergent totaled $779 million for the year ended Oct 5, 2014, according to the market-research firm IRI, representing more than 11% of total laundry detergent sales.

P&G is by far the largest player, with its market share just above 75%. Its Tide Pods and Gain Flings are the two top selling products in the category.

The product’s growth has come with more calls to poison-control centers. The number of monthly calls to poison control centers referencing the product rose sharply from 137 in March 2012 to 1,021 in April 2013.

Write to Paul Ziobro at Paul.Ziobro@wsj.com

This article was originally published on 10-11-2014 on The Wall Street Journal

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