A.I.S.E. has previously sponsored research to investigate the usefulness of in vitro test methods for eye irritation/eye damage, to ensure reliable and meaningful classification and labelling for detergent and cleaning product formulations without animal testing on finished products. The importance of correct classification was highlighted in
a paper from A.I.S.E. in 2019, which compared eye hazard classifications with effects following accidental exposure to detergent and maintenance products and found that classification was a poor predictor of the effects in practice.
In new research published in the November 2021 volume of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, A.I.S.E. has investigated the inter-laboratory performance of Isolated Chicken Eye (ICE) histopathology scoring as a method to predict GHS/EU CLP Cat.1 classification for surfactants and non-extreme pH detergents.
The research found that ICE histopathology:
- is suitable to predict Cat. 1 effects of surfactants and non-extreme pH detergents.
- increases accuracy vs. ICE alone to predict Cat. 1 effects of surfactants and non-extreme pH detergents.
- is reproducible between pathologists of independent laboratories to predict serious eye damage.
- is reproducible over time to predict serious eye damage of surfactants and non-extreme pH detergents.
The paper also makes recommendations for test facilities to ensure the reproducible use of ICE histopathology.