The ASEAN Cosmetic Committee (ACC) and ASEAN Cosmetic Scientific Body (ACSB) meet twice a year, discussing regulation amendments across the region to reduce the technical trade barriers, which include the amendments to the ingredient lists attaching to the ACD. Therefore, the ingredient lists update at least twice a year. Cosmetic companies need to make sure that their products comply with the most up-to-date regulatory requirements. ChemLinked will keep tracking the changes to these lists. Please stay tuned to get the updates.

The ACD as well as its ingredient lists apply to all Member States. However, when imposing the Directive, it is required to transpose it into the national law of each Member State appropriately. As a result, it is possible to see that the use requirement for an ingredient is not exactly the same for all ASEAN Member States. Take Formaldehyde as an example. It is a prohibited ingredient regulated by the ACD, while based on the latest ingredient lists (the lists updated in the 34th ACSB meeting), it is permitted for use in Lao PDR. Considering the potential difference in the supervision of cosmetic ingredients among the Member States, before placing products on the ASEAN market, cosmetic companies need to check the ingredient requirements of the Member State where the product will be sold to ensure compliance.

The way that ASEAN regulates ingredients is inspired by the EU. ASEAN adopted the ingredient lists of the “EU Cosmetic Directive 76/768/EEC” as well as the regulations that followed, and updates the lists with reference to the changes adopted by “EU Cosmetic Regulations”. However, the ingredient lists of these two regions are not exactly the same. For example, the fragrance allergens identified in the “EU Cosmetics Regulation” are not transposed to the ACD. In addition, the restrictions for whitening ingredients are stricter in ASEAN than in the EU.

Heavy metals and microorganisms are not included in the ASEAN cosmetic ingredients regulatory database. But in the production process of cosmetics, there are restrictions on these substances. Please refer to specific lists under Cosme-list for more details about these limit requirements.

Category 1 material shall comprise the following animal by-products:

1) Entire bodies and all body parts, including hides and skins, of the following animals: (i) Animals suspected of being infected by a Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE) or in which the presence of a TSE has been officially confirmed; (ii) Animals killed in the context of TSE eradication measures; (iii) Animals other than farmed and wild animals, including in particular pet animals, zoo animals and circus animals; (iv) Animals used for experiments; (v) Wild animals, when suspected of being infected with diseases communicable to humans or animals;

2) Specified risk material, or entire bodies or parts of dead animals containing specified risk material at the time of disposal;

3) Animal by-products derived from animals which have been submitted to illegal treatment;

4) Animal by-products containing residues of other substances and environmental contaminants, if such residues exceed the permitted level laid down by national legislation;

5) Animal by-products collected during the treatment of waste water;

6) Catering waste from means of transport operating internationally;

7) Mixtures of Category 1 material with either Category 2 material or Category 3 material or both.