We know that your products are essential to you and want them to be safe for consumers. Extractables and Leachables can cause serious health issues if left out of a product’s formulation, so it is important to understand what they are before adding them in! Extractables are substances that form when a solid material becomes soluble or liquefied through heat or chemical treatment.
Extractable compounds may also come from raw materials used in the manufacturing process. Extractables dissolve into solvent during extraction procedures and leach away from the solids during storage or use.
Leachates occur when water extracts chemicals in an organic compound such as wood preservatives, pesticides, dyes, etc., flowing from one medium into another.
Here are some Extractables and Leachables:
- Extractable compounds from the manufacturing process. The manufacturing process could be any number of things, like adding a preservative to keep something fresh or adding coloring for an aesthetic purpose. Extractables can also come from raw materials used in the production, such as when the wood is treated with a preservative. Extractables are often small molecules that can be adsorbed onto dust and soil particles or transferred from one surface to another through contact with contaminated hands, tools, equipment, etc.
- Leachates occur when water extracts chemicals in compounds such as wood preservatives, pesticides, dyes, etc., which then flow from the solid into the water and can be found in groundwater.
- Extractables are often used to measure contaminant levels. At the same time, leachates more accurately reflect contamination as they take a long time to form.
The critical difference between extractable and leachates is that extractable chemicals come from raw materials or manufacturing processes like preservatives, pesticides, or dyes. Extractables are often used to measure contaminant levels. At the same time, leachates more accurately reflect contamination as they take a long time to form.
You can find more studies about this subject online.
