Currently squalene is a very contentious issue regarding its origins. Squalene can be made from plant sources such as olives, bran and sugarcane. It also however can be synthesised from shark liver oil. 

3 million sharks (60 species) are killed every year globally and harvested for their livers. 90% of squalene extracted from sharks is sold straight to the cosmetic industry. 10% of creams in Europe currently contain a varying percentage of squalene, some even containing 100% squalene. It is not currently legislated that plant and shark squalene must be labelled separately, and many people do not know the origins of this product. Cosmetic companies often do not know what squalene type it is when they order it in.

I am campaigning today specifically to ask the origins of squalene in cosmetic products. If unknown, can rigorous testing be carried out to identify the origins of the squalene? Sharks are currently in such peril and the influence of a large company either campaigning against shark squalene, or cutting it out of its ingredients would have a huge impact.

We all rely on sharks to keep balance in the marine ecosystem, and there will be devastating consequences, more so than we can predict if sharks disappear.

Many products have been labelled uncertain in the source of squalene. I ask that quality controls be put in place, which today are quick, easy to implement and reliable. Testing must be carried out with every batch of squalene received, as many batches can be ‘cut’ with shark derived squalene as it is cheaper and easier to harvest than plant squalene. There is no longer an excuse to justify the presence or uncertainty of shark squalene in our cosmetic products.

I ask for the squalene type to be clearly labelled on every product containing shark squalene such as ‘100% plant derived, vegetable derived, vegetable origins’.

You can find a report detailing the uncertainty of the squalene used in products here. http://www.bloomassociation.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/squalane-bloom-english-1.pdf