[2] A 2017 study of the top-selling skin moisturizers from Amazon, Target, and Walmart found 83% of those marketed as "hypoallergenic" contained at least one potentially allergenic chemical.
[3][4] The term is also commonly applied to pet breeds which are claimed to produce fewer allergens than other breeds of the same species, due to some combination of their coat type, absence of fur, or absence of a gene that produces a certain protein.
In 1975, the US Food and Drug Administration tried to regulate the term hypoallergenic, but the proposal was challenged by cosmetic companies Clinique and Almay in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
[6] In 2019, the European Union released a document about claims made concerning cosmetics,[9] but this was issued as guidance, not a regulation.
So far, public authorities in no country provide an official certification that an item must undergo before being described as hypoallergenic.