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In an effort to appease health-conscious consumers, an association representing companies that sell cleaning products, air fresheners and detergents has announced the companies will start listing chemicals and other ingredients in their products on a voluntary basis.

The move was applauded this week by Health Minister Tony Clement.

But the Canadian Cancer Society, Canadian Lung Association and environmental health experts say the gesture may be insufficient to protect consumers from potentially dangerous chemicals.

"They've set the bar at an inadequate level," said Aaron Freeman, policy director for Environmental Defence, an advocacy organization. "There's just no guarantee for consumers that they're going to get the information that they need."

The Canadian Consumer Specialty Products Association, which represents 47 companies that sell laundry detergent, household cleaners, air fresheners and many other products, announced this week plans to start disclosing ingredients in response to increasing public demand for more information.

"[Companies] have seen an increase in consumer interest about the particular ingredients in the products," said Shannon Coombs, the association's president.

"I believe [this program] really provides information about the ingredients in a pro-active manner and will help Canadians make informed decisions about the products they use in and around their homes," Ms. Coombs said.

But the new program, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2010, is coming under fire because it won't require companies to disclose ingredients contained in any fragrances, dyes or preservatives - substances known to contain numerous chemicals that may have a negative effect on human health.

"You could have all kinds of harmful chemicals in a dye, for example, that just simply gets labelled as a dye rather than the chemical that's posing the health risk," Mr. Freeman said.

"The coverage of this initiative is very limited."

Companies that participate in the voluntary program also won't have to list ingredients on product labels, so long as they're available on the company website or if consumers call the company.

"We'd prefer to see that kind of information provided to the consumers at the point of sale," said Michelle McLean, public issues manager at the Canadian Cancer Society. "We think that's most effective."

Ms. McLean said the measures are a "good first step," but that ingredient labelling must go much further to inform and protect Canadians from exposure to potentially dangerous substances. The association wants all consumer products in Canada to carry ingredient lists on their labels on a mandatory basis, rather than under a voluntary program.

But labels alone aren't enough, since the complicated names of most chemicals, including those that may pose risks, are meaningless to many Canadians, Ms. McLean said.

"There will be some confusion still within the consumers' minds," she said.

That's why the group is urging industry and governments to require hazard warnings on all consumer products that contain substances that could be carcinogenic or otherwise harmful.

"I think what Canadians want to do is arm themselves with the best information they have," Ms. McLean said.

Ms. Coombs said the industry's move to provide product ingredients voluntarily will address the concerns of Canadians and follows similar standards set by the government for ingredient disclosure on cosmetics.

"The initiatives that we're putting forward [are] to provide transparency for consumers," Ms. Coombs said. "We have 47 members and all of them are committed to the program."

The federal government is in the midst of overhauling Canada's long-outdated food and consumer product safety laws to address increasing concern over numerous health issues, including toxic substances. One of the new measures could include mandatory ingredient lists on consumer products, which the Canadian Cancer Society and Environmental Defence say they hope will be much stronger than the association's new voluntary program.

"There's no independent monitoring and enforcement," Mr. Freeman said. "I would say this is a very poor substitute for meaningful government requirements to disclose ingredients and to limit harmful ingredients."