On Nov. 4, 2021, China Association of Fragrance Flavour and Cosmetic Industries issued a reminder on the adjustment of the European Commission's requirements for the use of ZPT in cosmetics. The original text is as follows:
On Oct. 29, 2021, the European Commission published (EC) No 202/1902 Regulation to include CMR substances (such as ZPT) into the (EC) No 1223/2009 Appendix and forbid their use in cosmetic products. (EC) No 2021/1902 came into force on Nov. 22, 2021 and was implemented officially on Mar. 1, 2022.
I. (EC) No 2021/1902 Regulation
According to Article 15 of the current EU Cosmetic Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, substances classified as CMR in Class 1A, Class 1B or Class 2 are prohibited from being used in cosmetic products. However, the substance may be used in cosmetic products in case of meeting the conditions specified in Sub-paragraph 2, Article 15(1) or Sub-paragraph 2, Article 15(2) as follows: There is no suitable alternative substance, and the CMR substance has been assessed by the SCCS and deemed to be safe for limited use in certain categories of cosmetics. It's intended to include all CMR substances into Appendix II (namely List of Prohibited Substances) of (EC) No 1223/2009 and the corresponding substances are deleted from Appendices III to VI (List of Restricted Substances, List of Permitted Coloring Agents, List of Permitted Preservatives and List of Permitted Sunscreens, respectively) in the latest (EC) No 2021/1902. Refer to the annex for specific adjustment.
II. ZPT situation
The zinc pyrithione (CAS No. 13463-41-7) is a Class 1B CMR substance currently listed in Appendix III (List of Restricted Substances) and Appendix V (List of Permitted Preservatives) of (EC) No 1223/2009, and the upper limit of its concentration in hair washing products, non-oral other washing products and resident hair products is 1%, 0.5% and 0.1%, respectively. The comments on ZPT adjustment are emphatically mentioned in (EC) No 2021/1902.
SCCS issued SCCS/1614/19 on Mar. 3-4, 2020 to give scientific opinions on the safety of ZPT and deem that ZPT at 1% concentration is safe to be used as an anti-dandruff ingredient in washing hair products, but there is no suitable alternative substance for ZPT.
Pursuant to the above scientific opinions, the European Commission considers that ZPT no longer complies with the provisions of Article 15 of (EC) No 1223/2009-"no suitable alternative substance", it is removed from the List of Restricted and Permitted Substances and included in the List of Prohibited Substances in (EC) No 202/1902, and (EC) No 1223/2009 will be adjusted accordingly. However, it is safe to use ZPT at a concentration of up to 1% in hair washing products according to SCCS/1614/19.
In view of this, the industry colleagues should pay attention to the revision and be prepared to respond at any time. The Association will continue to pay attention to the progress of the above content and welcome all industry colleagues to communicate and exchange with the Association timely.
China Association of Fragrance Flavour and Cosmetic Industries
Nov. 4, 2021
