Three Significant Changes Worthy of Attention in Technical Safety Standard for Cosmetics

On August 12th, CFDA opened Technical Safety Standard for Cosmetic for public consultation. The new standard “Technical Safety Standard for Cosmetics” replaces the Hygienic Standard for Cosmetics (2007). Articulated within the standard are significantly reduced maximum impurity level requirements, stricter requirements for children’s cosmetics and an appended list of prohibited substances which has an additional 100 substances added.

The Hygienic Standard for Cosmetics is the primary reference standard used by Chinese cosmetic companies when manufacturing cosmetics, however due to technological progress within the industry the standard is now outdated . According to the CFDA “Technical Safety Standard for Cosmetics is a refinement of the key concepts, terms and definitions in the current standard aimed at improving safety and quality assessment and encompassing the technical progress made in China’s cosmetic industry over the course of the last several years."

Lower impurities levels:

First of all, the highlight of the Technical Safety Standard for Cosmetic is the adjustment of the residue limits of lead and arsenic from the current 40mg/kg and 10m/kg respectively to 10mg/kg, 2mg/kg. The Standard newly adds cadmium and dioxane to the harmful substance list and sets the limits at 5mg/kg and 30mg/kg. The standard also emphasizes that asbestos should not be found in cosmetics.

Stricter requirements for children’s cosmetics:

Secondly, the Technical Safety Standard for Cosmetic restricts the use of preservative in products for infants and babies. Preservatives such as IPBC, salicylic acid and their salts are all restricted from use in products for children under 3 years old.

Appended prohibited substances list:

Thirdly, the list of prohibited ingredients has increased by 88 and now includes 1288 substances. The number of prohibited plant/animal derived ingredients increased by 20 kinds, restricted preservatives decreased from 56 to 51, while the number of restricted-use hair dyes is now just 75.

In addition, the quality, efficacy and safety assessment methods have also been revised. Physical, chemical, toxicological, microbiological, human safety and efficacy evaluation testing method have all been amended. The newly released standard heavily referenced the EU standard, and overall is more robust in its ability to meet the demands of China’s modern cosmetic industry.