The “Public consultation on fragrance allergens in the framework of Regulation (EC) No.1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on cosmetic products” has just been launched. Target groups are any interested parties, including authorities of the Member States, manufacturers of cosmetic products, producers of the substances concerned and relevant industry and consumers associations. Any comments should be sent by 14th May 2014.
Background
Regulation (EC) No.1223/2009 on cosmetic products (‘Cosmetics Regulation’) ^^ provides that perfume, aromatic compositions and their raw materials shall be referred to in the list of ingredients on the packaging as ‘Parfum’ or ‘Aroma’. However, 26 fragrance allergens listed in Annex III of the Cosmetics Regulation shall be mentioned in the list of ingredients in addition to the term ‘Parfum’ or ‘Aroma’, if their concentration exceeds 0.001% in leave-on products and 0.01% in rinse-off products. Moreover, Annex II lists substances which are prohibited in cosmetic products, including some fragrance allergens.
In June 2012, the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (‘SCCS’) adopted a new opinion on fragrance allergens in cosmetic products. The opinion covered contact allergens (respiratory allergens were excluded).
In that opinion the SCCS:
1) Updated the list of fragrance allergens that the consumer should be made aware of when they are present in cosmetic products, while confirming that the 26 fragrance allergens currently regulated for individual labelling are still of concern. The SCCS also indicated that substances known to be transformed, through air oxidation (prehaptens) or/and bioactivation (prohaptens), into allergens which are more potent than the parent substance should be treated as equivalent to those allergens.
2) Identified, …
