Introduction
Cosmetic labelling is one of the main constituents when it comes to cosmetics. Without the labelling requirements and regulations that the European Union has enforced, consumers would have no idea what they are purchasing or using on their bodies. Information such as the brand or the ingredients present play a large role in what people may purchase, especially if they have allergies or some type of medical condition to take into consideration.
Labelling Regulations
According to European legislation (European Union, 2011) a cosmetic item is defined "as any substance or preparation intended to be placed in contact with the various external parts of the human body or with the teeth and the mucous membranes of the …show more content…
Its main objective was strengthening the safety of cosmetic products and simplifying the framework for operators in this area. This new regulation makes procedures more comprehensible to the degree that the internal market of cosmetics is now an actuality. The cosmetics regulation now supply a strong, internationally known system, that strengthen product safety. Some of the most noteworthy alterations brought in by the Cosmetics Regulation were:
• Stronger safety specifications for cosmetics, which mean that manufacturers have to abide by certain regulations in the development of a product safety report before making a product available to put on the market.
• Establishment of the idea of a 'responsible person', just cosmetic products where there is legal person assigned inside the European Union as "responsible person" is allowed to be put on the market. This new regulation allows for accurate recognition of who this "responsible person" is and plainly identifies the responsibilities.
• Concentrated notification of all cosmetics put in the European Union market, the producer has to notify its product just the one time- by the route of the European Union Cosmetic Products Notification Portal.
• New Regulations for the usage of nanomaterials in cosmetics, preservatives, colorants and UV-filters, also those that include nanomaterials, have to be given consent. (European Commission, …show more content…
This is true for most cases except:
• when something isn't seen as an ingredient, such as impurities or materials used in the making up of it but not the final version of the product.
• Another exception is perfume or aromatic compounds which have to be referred to as 'parfum' or 'aroma'. Except for 26 substances which have to be mentioned along with the usual reference to 'parfum' or 'aroma' when it's specifically mentioned under the correct listing in Annex III of the Cosmetics directive.
• A similar principle is applied in incidences' where ingredients do not need to be labelled.
Toxicological Specifications in Cosmetic Ingredients
The toxicological specifications for cosmetic ingredients are (Pauwels & Rogiers, 2004):
1.Acute toxicity.
2.Irritation and corrosivity.
3.Skin sensitization.
4.Dermal/percutaneous absorption.
5.Repeated dose toxicity.
6.Mutagenicity/genotoxicity.
7.Carcinogenicity.
8.Reproductive toxicity.
9.Toxicokinetics.
10.Photo-induced toxicity.
11.Human data.
These are all vital checkpoints for determining if a cosmetic product is suitable for sale and