Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational consumer goods company, headquartered in London, United Kingdom and Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Unilever products include food, sweets, energy drinks, baby food, soft drinks, ice cream, tea, cleaning agents, coffee, pet food, bottled water, chewing gum, frozen pizza, pregnancy tests, juice, beauty products, personal care, breakfast cereals, medicine and pharmaceutical healthcare products. Unilever is the largest producer of soap in the world. It is one of the oldest multinational companies and its products are available in around 190 countries.Unilever owns over 400 brands, with a turnover in 2017 of 53.7 billion euros, and thirteen brands with sales of over one billion euros: Axe/Lynx, Dove, Omo, Heartbrand ice creams, Hellmann's, Knorr, Lipton, Lux, Magnum, Rexona/Degree, Sunsilk and Surf.It is a dual-listed company consisting of Unilever N.V., based in Rotterdam, and Unilever plc, based in London. The two companies operate as a single business, with a common board of directors. However, on 11 June 2020 Unilever announced it has reviewed its corporate structure and that the company was to merge Unilever N.V into Unilever PLC forming one holding company to be based in the UK. This unification is expected to complete in November 2020.Unilever is organised into four main divisions – Foods, Refreshment (beverages and ice cream), Home Care, and Beauty & Personal Care. It has research and development facilities in China, India, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States.Unilever was founded on 2 September 1929, by the merger of the Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie and the British soapmaker Lever Brothers. During the second half of the 20th century, the company increasingly diversified from being a maker of products made of oils and fats, and expanded its operations worldwide. It has made numerous corporate acquisitions, including Lipton (1971), Brooke Bond (1984), Chesebrough-Ponds (1987), Best Foods (2000), Ben & Jerry's (2000), Alberto-Culver (2010), Dollar Shave Club (2016) and Pukka Herbs (2017). Unilever divested its specialty chemicals businesses to ICI in 1997. In the 2010s, under the leadership of Paul Polman, the company gradually shifted its focus towards health and beauty brands and away from food brands showing slow growth.Unilever plc has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Unilever N.V. has a primary listing on Euronext Amsterdam and is a constituent of the AEX index. The company is also a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index. Unilever N.V. also has a primary listing in NYSE.
Poorly soluble low toxicity particles (PSLT) have long been a concept in particle toxicology and regulatory frameworks addressing inhalation hazards. The term PSLT refers to particles that exhibit low toxicity and minimal solubility in biological fluids, leading to prolonged retention in the lungs and potential overload effects. Historically, PSLT has been used to distinguish materials whose adverse effects are primarily driven by particle burden rather than intrinsic chemical toxicity. While the "low toxicity" (LT) component of the definition has been examined to a certain degree (Driscoll and Borm in Inhal Toxicol 32(2):53-62, 2020), the poorly soluble (PS)-criterion does not yet have a precise definition although it is critically influencing the interpretation of toxicological inhalation repeated dose studies and hazard classifications. An ECETOC Task Force (TF) was formed to define criteria for "poorly soluble" particles (PSPs). This paper presents a quantitative non-animal approach for defining PSP using a model particle, with a focus on its potential to cause volumetric lung overload and affect macrophage clearance mechanisms. The analysis allows to calculate a dissolution rate that would lead to a lung burden of about 1 µL/g of lung tissue (lung overload threshold according to Morrow (Morrow in Fundam Appl Toxicol 10(3):369, 1988)). Below this threshold dissolution rate, this specific model particle would qualify as PSP. In addition, a formula was presented to translate abiotic dissolution rates into biotic (rat) dissolution rates to allow a PS-assessment in an animal-free system. As proof of concept, the TF collected existing in vivo data from member companies, publicly available literature of presumed PS-substances, and reference materials. The collected data revealed that most substances exhibited dissolution rates below the critical threshold and that the lung burden at no observed adverse effect concentrations (NOAECs) remained below the lung overload limit. Importantly, this threshold dissolution rate can differ from particle to particle, depending on factors such as agglomerate density, particle size distribution, and expected concentration. Thus, it should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Brazil has advanced its chemical regulatory framework with the enactment of Law No. 15,022/2024, which establishes the National Inventory of Chemical Substances, aligning the country with international chemical management systems. The law creates a structured system for the registration, prioritization, and management of industrial chemicals, explicitly promoting the use of non-animal New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) and restricting animal testing to a measure of last resort. The manuscript contextualizes this new legislation within Brazil’s broader regulatory and capacity-building trajectory. Starting with the Arouca Law (Law No. 11,794/2008), which established the National Council for the Control of Animal Experimentation (CONCEA), Brazil has progressively strengthened its institutional framework through the creation of BraCVAM and RENAMA. These initiatives have expanded national expertise in NAM-based testing and directly supported Brazil’s phased ban on animal testing for cosmetics, initiated in 2023 and fully implemented in 2025. Brazil’s model adopts a simplified, uniform data requirement at the initial registration stage, deferring more extensive data generation to the risk assessment phase. This approach incentivizes early reliance on non-animal tools such as QSAR, read-across, PBPK modeling, and IATAs. The planned timeline toward 2027 provides a strategic window to define protection goals, build regulatory confidence, and harmonize Brazil’s system with global best practices, fostering ethical innovation, improved chemical safety, and sustainable industrial development.
IntroductionAs part of a programme of work developing human-relevant New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) for next-generation risk assessment (NGRA), use of a human air-liquid interface (ALI) bronchial epithelial model (MucilAir™) to investigate the impact of exposure to protease was assessed.MethodsTo guide in vitro dosing, scenarios representing low-high risk of sensitisation after 8 h of protease exposure in an occupational setting were modelled by performing simulations with the Multiple Path Particle Dosimetry (MPPD) model with refinement of the outputs using a tracheobronchial/alveolar clearance model, to estimate tracheobronchial tissue doses. With no effects seen at these concentrations, higher concentrations were subsequently tested to identify thresholds for biological effects. Repeated apical liquid exposures over 8 h were applied using a wide concentration range of protease (0.00125–7812 μg protease protein/mL) or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) control. Effects on epithelial barrier integrity, cytokine production, and extracellular vesicle (EV) dynamics were measured.ResultsReduced transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER), increased EV and IL-8 secretion were observed using a PBS control reflecting the impact of liquid dosing alone. No significant protease-related adverse effects were observed at concentrations of 0.5 μg protease protein/mL or lower when compared to the PBS control. At concentrations of 75 μg protease protein/mL or more, however, TEER was significantly reduced and mucin and tetraspanin expression on EVs was degraded.DiscussionHere, we show the impact of liquid dosing when investigating the effects of materials on bronchial epithelia, and challenges encountered when working with proteases. This work provides a foundation for developing in vitro methodology for generation of data for use in risk assessment of inhalation of enzymes and other materials. It is hypothesised that nebulised protease delivery could be a more suitable alternative and better replicate in vivo (human) inhalation dynamics.
In silico tools offer rapid, cost-efficient alternatives to animal testing in (eco)toxicology. The following ToxWatch highlights the limitations that slow down regulatory application and discusses opportunities that could turn barriers into bridges.
