The SCCS has just published its final Opinion on the safety of titanium dioxide in cosmetic products that lead to exposure by inhalation. It was adopted by written procedure on 6 October 2020, after the end of the comment period following its initial publication and review by the Scientific Committee.
Background
The European Commission on 4 October 2019 adopted for TiO2 a classification as a “Carcinogen Category 2 (inhalation)”.
In January 2020, industry submitted a dossier to support the safety of TiO2.
Since the nano-form of TiO2 is already restricted, this dossier is confined to the uses of TiO2 (non-nano) in cosmetic products that may give rise to consumer exposure by the inhalation route (i.e. aerosol, spray and powder form products).
The SCCS published its preliminary Opinion in August 2020.
For an exhaustive background information, see the articles
• CLP’s 14th ATP: TiO2 officially classified as Carcinogen 2, COsmeticOBS, 19 February 2020
• Titanium dioxide: Request for SCCS Opinion, CosmeticOBS, 10 February 2020
• Titanium dioxide (TiO2): Preliminary Opinion of the SCCS, CosmeticOBS, 26 August 2020
This Opinion has been subject to a commenting period of the minimum four weeks after its initial publication due to legislative constraints (from 10 August until 07 September 2020). Comments received during this time period were considered by the SCCS. The final version has been amended, in particular in the following sections: SCCS comment in physicochemical section, Tables 9b, 13b, 15a, 18a, 18b, 20b and 20c in exposure assessment section, toxicokinetic …
