Product Safety of absorbent hygiene products

EDANA’s member companies – the product manufacturers and their suppliers - keep safety at the very heart of what they do.

General Information on AHPs 

Absorbent hygiene products  (AHP) comprise menstrual products (sanitary napkins, panty liners and tampons), baby diapers and incontinence care products. They have a history of more than 50 years of safe use worldwide.

Millions of products are used safely each day and absorbent hygiene products manufacturers ensure that all products comply with all relevant regulations and are safe for their intended and foreseeable uses. Absorbent hygiene products and their raw materials are produced from natural and/or synthetic polymers. Raw materials are selected according to strict quality criteria and during manufacture, rigorous quality control systems and good manufacturing practices are in place to ensure the highest hygienic standards are met.

Before being released onto the market, the composition and safety of all raw materials are reviewed taking into account potential toxicity to the consumer and the environment. EDANA members carry out post-marketing surveillance of their products in which they actively respond to consumer comments to ensure continuously the quality and safety of their products.

To further strengthen the industry’s safety efforts and enhance consumer confidence. EDANA and its members have embraced a new level of action and transparency on levels of trace substances with the voluntary EDANA Stewardship Program AHP. 

Composition of sanitary products

Some misconceptions revolve around how absorbent hygiene products are manufactured and what their components are. The reality is that AHPs are complex, multilayered products made by assembling various components, each of them with various functions. 

Absorbent hygiene products are produced in several steps in compliance with local and international safety standards and regulations.

Safety evaluation of AHPs  

All absorbent hygiene products undergo a thorough safety assessment on top of what is required by the applicable regulatory framework.

Here are 3 voluntary Exposure-based Risk Assessments (EBRA) guidelines for various hygiene products