May 4, 2007 – Mosquito repellents made from citronella oil are not harmful to health. The doubts raised by Health Canada in 2004 as to the safety of this product were not scientifically founded.
This is what emerges from a confidential report that Radio-Canada obtained under the Access to Information Act.1 and of which Health Canada became aware in March 2006.
In the fall of 2005, the federal ministry asked a committee of independent experts to review the issue of citronella-based insect repellents. Health Canada’s recommendation to phase them off the market in September 2004 sparked an outcry.
Health Canada then alleged that they could contain a potentially carcinogenic agent – methyl eugenol. In their report, the experts agree that this agent is potentially carcinogenic, but that, according to the manufacturers consulted, this type of insect repellent does not contain it. However, they did not provide any data to this effect.
The committee therefore recommends that clarification be established on the acceptable concentration of methyl eugenol in citronella-based mosquito repellents.
Rats and humans do not have the same skin
Experts point out that no case of lemon grass oil poisoning has been recorded since this mosquito repellent first appeared in the country more than 50 years ago. They have serious reservations about the studies that have led Health Canada to question the safety of this insect repellent.
One of the studies consulted measured the toxicity of lemongrass oil in rats by applying it to the skin of pregnant females. After 100 days, a higher rate of mortality was observed in the newborn rats.
According to the committee, Health Canada did not take into account in its analysis that the permeability of the skin of rats is ten times higher than that of human skin. Topical application of citronella therefore poses no risk to humans, experts say.
Lemongrass oil is “highly volatile and most of its components are likely to evaporate rather than be absorbed” through the skin, they add.
Health Canada should announce its decision to sell citronella insect repellents before the end of spring, just in time for the mosquitoes to arrive!
Martin LaSalle – PasseportSanté.net
According to Radio-Canada and The duty.
1. The document is available in PDF format on the Radio-Canada website at the following address: www.radio-canada.ca [consulté le 3 mai 2007].
