How dangerous is Benzethonium Chloride?

"It is unapproved in the USA and Europe as a food additive ingredient. In Switzerland it is classified as a class-2 poison."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzethonium_chloride


"Ingestion of benzethonium chloride may cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions, collapse and coma. Ingestion of 1 to 3 grams of benzethonium chloride may be fatal."
http://www.ehow.com/facts_5506385_benzethonium-chloride-side-effects.html


How much Grapefruit-Seed-Extract would need to consume to reach 1g of benzethonium chloride, a potentially fatal dose? Well, 10 drops of a popular product is claimed to contain 100mg of GSE, and one tablet of another contains 125g GSE. If such Grapefruit-Seed-Extract products contain 8% benzethonium chloride by weight, then 1250 drops or 100 tablets might be a fatal dose of GSE.

On a more positive note, "Benzethonium chloride showed no evidence of carcinogenic activity in 2-year skin studies on male and female rats."

This report by ScienceLab.com about the toxicity of benzethonium chloride is quite alarming: "The substance is toxic to mucous membranes. Repeated or prolonged exposure to the substance can produce target organs damage.
http://www.sciencelab.com/xMSDS-Benzethonium_chloride-9923044

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