The charity Sense About Science has attacked celebrities such as fashion designer Stella McCartney and actress Gwyneth Paltrow for making statements that could mislead.

Ms Paltrow claimed that she was avoiding cancer by “eating biological foods”, something dieticians say is not possible. And Ms McCartney’s comments that “lots of skin products use the same petrochemicals as the anti-freeze in you car” and that 60% of what you put on your skin is absorbed into the system “have been challenged by pharmacologists who say that absorption rates are around one per cent and that the propylene glycol used in some skin products and antifreeze is also used as a medical lubricant and as a solvent in food colourings, fragrance, and anti-bacterial lotions.

More information about celebrity scientific gaffes can be found at www.senseaboutscience.org.uk