Q: Can I use borates for food preservatives or for flea control?

Borax's borate products are not intended for use in food applications and are labeled accordingly. Therefore, our borate products shall not be used as (or to manufacture) food additives or preservatives.

U.S. Borax does not sell any product into the borate/borax flea control or carpet application businesses. In keeping with our product stewardship commitment to our customers, we recommend against the use of borate products for carpet applications. These applications include boric acid, borax or other borate-containing products intended for use on carpets as deodorizers or flea control agents.

These carpet-use patterns are different from all other borate product uses in that they present the opportunity for small children or pets to ingest borates directly from the carpets. It is not feasible to assess the extent of exposure to children and pets under all possible scenarios, due to the variety of parameters that determine exposure from carpets (e.g. variation in carpet type, borate product type, application method and rate, vacuum efficiency and frequency, and individual behavioral patterns of children or pets). Without adequate exposure information, U.S. Borax cannot determine the level of risk that may result from carpet-use patterns; therefore, we do not support the use of borate products for carpet flea control applications by anyone, especially consumers.

It should also be recognized that any compound used for the purpose of mitigating "pests" is considered to be a "pesticide" which is regulated by state and federal authorities (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency).

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