asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will discuss with the manufacturers of kitchen cleansing products the need to replace chemical with vegetable-based ingredients to reduce health dangers and pollution. [HL1356]

We have no plans currently to do so.

The safety of household products containing chemicals is governed by the Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations 2002, which is administered by the Health and Safety Executive. These regulations require that manufacturers identify the dangers to human health and the environment of products containing chemicals, classify them under an EC-wide classification system and package them safely. If the product contains hazardous chemicals it must be labelled with the appropriate warning symbols indicating the hazards and with phrases explaining the dangers and how to use the product safely. Control of pollution caused by such chemicals is controlled by the detergents directive, the marketing and use directive and a range of other measures including the water framework directive.