BfR Cautions Against Broad Use of Nanosilver in Consumer Products

On April 12, 2011, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) issued a statement entitled “Safety of Nano Silver in Consumer Products: Many Questions Remain Open,” which reports BfR’s conclusions from a February 2011 workshop discussing existing risks and possible options for comprehensive consumer protection from nanosilver. According to BfR, “the situation continues to be characterised by the fact that not enough secured scientific findings about the specific effects of nano-sized silver particles are available.” BfR states: “Articles of daily use and consumer products may not constitute any health risk based on statutory provisions during proper use or foreseeable misuse. Since no final safety assessment for man and the environment is available so far for nanoscale forms of silver due to the missing data, BfR continues to advise against a broad use of nano silver in consumer products.”