Allergic preservatives found in 60% of dishwasher detergents

by Julie Hansberry March 15, 2018

March 2018 - Consumer Council has tested 35 dishwasher detergents (also known as dishwashing liquid) - 60% of the samples (i.e. 21 dishwasher detergents) are detected to contain allergic preservatives (MIT, CMIT, BIT). Some of those are even labelled as "soft on hands", "natural" or "hand moisturising". Repeated use of the detergents containing high amounts of allergy-causing preservatives may cause allergic reaction or even dermatitis.

Here's the list of 21 dishwasher detergents that have allergic preservatives:

Seventh Generation Natural Dish Liquid
Essential Waitrose Washing Up Liquid Original
Clorox Green Works Naturally Derived Dishwashing Liquid - Original Fresh
Tesco Lemon Washing Up Liquid
LibY Dishwashing Liquid
Fairy Original Dishwashing Liquid
AXE Skin Moisturizing Dishwashing Detergent with Lemon
EZ Clean Dishwashing Detergent Lemon
Pengu Dishwashing Detergent with Lemon
Labour Lemon Liquid Detergent
Wonderful Dishwashing Liquid with Lemon
Castle Lemon Dishwashing Detergent
No Frills Dishwashing Detergent with Lemon
Earth Choice Dishwash Liquid - Aloe Fresh
Daiso Orange Wash Dish Detergent
Amway Home Concentrated Dishwashing Liquid
Earth Choice Dish Wash Concentrate - Blood Orange & Pomegranate
Lion Magica Super Concentrated Dishwashing Detergent (Herbal Green)
Lion Charmy V Concentrated Dishwashing Detergent
AXE Supra Dishwashing Detergent
Swashes Natural-formula Disinfectant Washing detergent

When it comes to choosing and using detergents, Consumer Council advises the below:

"study the products’ ingredient lists in detail to detect whether or not they may contain allergic ingredients;
people with sensitive skin or suffering from eczema or when they have open wounds on their hands, should avoid using products containing MIT, CMIT or BIT preservatives;
if necessary wear gloves to wash dishes to minimise contact with irritant or allergic substances;
when cleaning dishes, if the dirt is not particularly difficult to remove, use cold water and appropriate amount of detergent, avoid keeping tap water running;
in removing difficult grease or stains, soak the dishes in hot water first before cleaning them with detergent to save on consumption of the detergent."

Source: Consumer Council, Yahoo & HKET