Application Note
SIFT-MS provides rapid, sensitive, and robust analysis of benzene and other contaminants in a wide array of commercial products. Integration with a headspace autosampler enables rapid screening of hundreds of samples per day.
In this study, four commercial personal care product matrices were tested: a crushed tablet, a syrup, a creamy lotion (called ‘lotion’) and an oily lotion. Benzene was detected from ca. 20 to 600 parts per billion (ppb) in the four commercial products with good repeatability. The ease with which SIFT-MS rapidly analyzes benzene with high specificity in diverse matrices means that it is ideally suited to product quality control – both in the testing laboratory and on the process line.
Valisure Study Uses SIFT-MS to Detect Benzene in Dry Shampoo
Valisure recently completed a safety study that used SIFT-MS to discover benzene levels in dry shampoo that were 4000 times the EPA's guidance and 170 times the FDA's limit for drugs. The Bloomberg article by Anna Edney details how SIFT-MS found benzene with 10-50X greater sensitivity than standard GC-based methods. Unilever subsequently issued a voluntary recall of its dry shampoo products produced prior to October 2021 from Dove, Nexxus, Suave, TIGI (Rockaholic and Bed Head), and TRESemmé due to potentially elevated levels of benzene. Since the Bloomberg story broke, it has subsequently been picked up by TIME, the LA Times, Dermatology Times, and MedPage. Anna Edney wrote a follow-up article entitled, "A Look Inside the Lab Protecting Us from Dangerous Products" detailing the Valisure safety testing lab and how SIFT-MS provides more accurate testing of aerosolized contaminants like benzene. Visit our environmental events page to read the article and sign Valisure's FDA Citizen Petition on Dry Shampoo.