What are the steps to testing the safety of a product?
There are four basic steps to product safety testing, whether testing a new medicine, a new type of makeup, or a new cleaning solution. The individual methods and techniques may vary slightly, but the overall process is the same no matter what the product.
First, scientists find out about past research. New products are actually made up of several different ingredients, so researchers must look up existing safety information on each individual ingredient as well as combinations of those ingredients. Most of this information is available in books, scientific journals, and computer databases. This research process can take from months up to several years to complete, and much of the information actually comes from past research projects involving animals.
The second step in the development process is to design tests that do not involve animals. For example, scientists may use computer programs to study aspects of the product. This is referred to as computer modeling. These studies may provide some answers but cannot give the researchers answers to "how" an ingredient will react within a living body. Therefore, scientists may do further testing using cell cultures or tissue cultures.
Because animals are made of numerous body systems, computer models and tissue cultures simply cannot mimic the complexities of a living body. It is at this point where researchers test their products on living animals. Testing the products on animals provides answers to questions that cannot be determined using computer models or simple tissue cultures. For example, will long-term use of the product cause dangerous side effects or life-threatening health problems such as cancer? Will it affect unborn babies or pregnant mothers? Does it affect children differently than adults? Sometimes the only way to find the answers, without harming people, is to test the ingredients on animals.
Once animal testing is complete, the product is still not ready for the marketplace. Often, it is tested on a limited number of human volunteers who know the benefits and risks of being part of this type of test. You may have seen the TV or newspaper ads requesting people with various medical conditions to volunteer to try out a new medicine. These volunteers will be monitored closely and for extended periods of time to provide researchers with even more safety details. These tests are known as clinical trials; once completed, they allow scientists to be absolutely sure their product has no harmful effects.
Each of these steps is critical to producing a product that is safe for the general public to use with confidence. If any of these steps is omitted, a product that is harmful or even deadly may be released on the marketplace.