Study shows dishwasher tablets rarely cause harm

Posted by Charlotte Salter, on July 22, 2016.

Research based on figures from the UK’s National Poisons Information Service (NPIS) has shown that people who come into contact with soluble film dishwasher tablets rarely experience clinically significant symptoms.

The paper in the Journal of Clinical Toxicology examined statistics on calls to the NPIS over seven years between 2008 and 2015. 

During that period, the service logged enquiries relating to 488 patients, most of whom were five years old or younger. Almost all the cases involved the patient ingesting the product.

After examining the effects on the patients, the authors concluded that “ingestion of a soluble film automatic dishwashing tablet rarely resulted in clinically significant symptoms”.

Soluble film automatic dishwashing tablets require no removal from an outer protective wrapper prior to use. Instead, the tablets are enclosed by a water-soluble film and are loaded straight into the dishwashing machine.

Contact the UKCPI on ukcpi@ukcpi.org or call 07843 199397.