OECD Webinar | Implementation of the Defined Approaches on Skin Sensitisation for chemical safety

‌Humans and the environment are exposed every day to chemicals. How do we make sure that these chemicals are safe?
Industry is required to test these chemicals to understand how they may affect people and the environment. In the past, these tests were most commonly carried out on animals. As scientific methods and tools progress, the use of animals to test a product designed for humans are becoming obsolete, in addition to being unethical. With new methods being developed, it is possible to perform these tests on human and animal cell cultures with equally rigorous and robust results. Because the OECD is committed to chemical safety and animal welfare, a new ground-breaking Guideline on Defined Approaches for Skin Sensitisation (OECD GL 497) was released on 14 June 2021. It is the first ever Guideline that uses non-animal methods to predict whether a chemical can cause skin allergies.
The OECD organised a webinar on 18 October 2021 to discuss the implementation of the Defined Approaches on Skin Sensitisation for chemical safety in member countries. This webinar paved the way for companies and authorities to determine the environmental toxicity of chemicals without having to resort to animal testing.
All the presentations and the Q&A document can be accessed at: oe.cd/testing-...