CARLSBAD, Calif. (June 13) — The American Society for Testing and Materials has approved a new safety standard for natural rubber latex that provides a boost to Carlsbad-based Yulex Corp., the only company so far that can pass it.
The standard defines a new Category 4 natural rubber latex that contains less than 200 micrograms of total protein per gram dry weight and no detectable proteins according to the ASTM standard for quantifying allergy-triggering proteins in latex. This classification is important to Yulex, which advertises its latex from the desert shrub guayule as hypoallergenic for latex-sensitive persons.
"Our concern was that Yulex latex would be placed on the same level as tropical latex, which has no safety standards," said Yulex President Jeffrey Martin. "We hope that customers will look at this standard and react with confidence toward Yulex products."