Pesticide in Lanolin

To the Editor. —  We note with some concern the letter¹ in which attention is drawn to the presence of residual pesticides in lanolin.Croda Inc has been aware for several years of the possibility that substances, including pesticides from the agricultural environment, may remain in refined lanolin. The principal source of these residues is the treatment of sheep with a dip containing pesticides to reduce the infestation of the fleece with parasites.It is possible to select wool greases of low pesticide content, however, and conventional refining technology that produces lanolin from wool grease will reduce these levels even further.The Environmental Protection Agency has recently completed a risk assessment² in which it reviewed the results of pesticide analysis of lanolin-based emollients. This assessment was performed at the request of the Food and Drug Administration.A worst-case scenario was postulated in which significant quantities of lanolin were ingested