Through the animal rights non-profit Humane Society International and in collaboration with many industry experts, the Animal-Free Safety Assessment Collaboration (AFSA) has launched a free online master class course that aims to train scientists across the globe in testing cosmetics and chemicals without using animals.
The AFSA collaboration is multi-sector partnership between non-profit, corporate, and philanthropic leaders who are working together to make animal-free safety science as “a gold standard across regulatory frameworks worldwide.”
The course has been funded by “in-kind contributions” from Avon Products Inc., Crème, Delphic HSE, DSM-Firmenich, Givaudan, Humane Society International, Institute for In Vitro Sciences, International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc., Lhasa Ltd., L’Oréal, Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, Procter & Gamble, Symrise and Unilever.
“More valuable and reliable results”
Since its launch, the course has already attracted over 1,200 participants from nearly 70 countries.
The course, which was created by a team of industry experts, method developers, and regulatory and animal protection experts, includes real-life case studies and walks scientists through animal-free testing step-by-step.
According to the AFSA, the methodologies not only eliminate the need for animal-based testing, but also “provide more valid and reliable results concerning the safety of chemicals and products.”
Dr Catherine Willett who is senior director of science and regulatory affairs at Humane Society International and principal coordinator of the AFSA Master Class, said that consumers and companies alike do want to move away from animal tests, but learning more about the alternatives and how to use them to make safety decisions can be “challenging.”
“The AFSA Master Class demystifies animal-free safety assessment, making it easier for companies to replace rats, rabbits and guinea pigs with advanced non-animal models and computer simulations,” she explained.
While Dr Julia H Fentem, who is European VP safety, environmental & regulatory science at Unilever, highlighted that cosmetics and personal care products safety is of “the utmost importance,” which is why the master class is “focused on the safety assessment of cosmetic products and ingredients without generating new animal data and covers all aspects of using non-animal tools and data for internal company decisions-making as well as regulatory safety assessments.”
Industry experts can sign up for the course here.
