In December 2021, EU Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) launched a consultation on the revised opinion on Vitamin A in cosmetics. After Considering the comments received during the consultation, SCCS released the finalized opinion on October 26, 2022. 1
Vitamin A (CAS No: 68-26-8 / 11103-57-4 / 116-31-4) constitutes a group of lipid-soluble compounds including retinol, retinyl palmitate, retinyl acetate, retinyl linoleate and retinal. Currently, it is not regulated in the ingredient annexes to Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009. Responding to Member States' request for safety assessment of Vitamin A, in October 2016, SCCS published the opinion SCCS/1576/16, and concluded that Vitamin A is safe when used as a cosmetic ingredient in:
body lotions up to the maximum concentration of 0.05% of retinol equivalent;
hand cream / face cream, leave-on (other than body lotions) and rinse-off products up to the maximum concentration of 0.3% of retinol equivalent.
Later in 2020, SCCS received supplementary information regarding the exposure to Vitamin A from additional sources such as food and food supplements, as well as the contribution of cosmetics among the overall exposure to Vitamin A. In light of the information received, SCCS conducted another safety assessment, and formed the revised opinion based on the result.
In the revised opinion, SCCS reiterates the conclusion stated in SCCS/1576/16. As a supplementary, SCCS alerts that, the exposure to Vitamin A from food and food supplements of the most exposed consumers (5% of the total population) may already exceed the upper limit. As the contribution of Vitamin A from cosmetics will add to the overall exposure, it may be of concern for this group of consumers.
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