"Precautionary" Regulation Genetics and Cosmeceuticals in the 21st Century

The 21st century will increasingly see regulators implementing a "recautionary approach" to risks posed by cosmetics. The precautionary approach is a step beyond traditional risk assessment in that is assumes that a biologically active agent will cause harm until the producer conducts enough tests to prove it to be safe. This contrasts to risk assessment that allows a manufacturer to assume safety based on "state-of-the-art" testing methods (e.g., animal tests) that prove safety to the satisfaction of most "mainstream" scientists.