China becomes the first market in the world to set a limit for benzene as an impurity in cosmetics.
China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has issued Notice No. 41 announcing 14 new and five revised testing methods for cosmetics to be included in Safety and Technical Standards for Cosmetics (2015 Edition (STSC 2015)). Test methods included in the notice cover pH value of cosmetics in W/O form, skin whitening agents testing methods and so on.
Read Highlights for industry:
Subscribe to read the full article
- Benvitimod (No. 1285) added as a prohibited substance to STSC 2015
- Limit of 2mg/kg for benzene in cosmetics set, if it is technically unavoidable that it is introduced into the cosmetic product as an impurity
- Additions:
- Test method to determine the pH value of cosmetics with water in oil form
- Test method to determine the content of colorants in cosmetics such as CI 10020 and CI 11920 (total 24 colorants)
- Test method to determine the content of 15 kinds of hair dye in cosmetics
- Various in vitro testing methods, including in vitro skin sensitization: human cell line activation test (h-CLAT) and in chemico skin sensitization: amino acid derivative reactivity assay (ADRA)
- Test method to determine the content of 13 kinds of skin whitening agents in cosmetics
- Test method for free formaldehyde content in cosmetics revised
This new regulation enters into force immediately.
Go to full regulation:
NB: The original publication of the regulation shall prevail in case of discrepancy between the English version and the Chinese version
