Commission Publishes Cosmetics Nano Inventory

The European Commission has today published the first version of an inventory of nanomaterials in cosmetics on the EU market.

The Commission had initially planned to release the inventory almost three and a half years ago. The delay, it says, was due to manufacturers and importers submitting inaccurate and inconsistent data to the cosmetic products notification portal (CPNP) and failing to state whether they contain nanomaterials.

It also took longer to prepare because member states were asked to conduct market surveillance.

The catalogue contains 43 substances used as colourants, preservatives and UV-filters, among others. For each substance, the category of cosmetic product it is used in, as well as its foreseeable exposure conditions, is included.

The Commission says the inventory is for information only and is not a list of authorised nanomaterials.

"The catalogue remains a 'work in progress', subject to modifications, and will be updated regularly," it says, with the assistance of member states.

By the end of 2016, less than 1% of cosmetic products notified in the CPNP were identified as containing nanomaterials, the Commission adds.

‘Learning experience’

Doreen Fedrigo-Fazio, senior policy officer for nanotechnology at the European Environmental Citizens Organisation for Standardisation (Ecos), says she welcomes the inventory, but says the information is "limited".

And the drawn-out process of preparing it serves as evidence of "how weak the EU’s legislative framework is in regulating nanomaterials", Ms Fedrigo-Fazio says.

The data provision exercise, she says, has illustrated how difficult it is to ensure that companies provide the information legally required, "even for a piece of legislation as clearly written as the Cosmetics Regulation".

"The Commission should use this as a learning experience as it continues to work on amendments to REACH to make nano information requirements more specific."

John Chave, director of trade body Cosmetics Europe, says he acknowledges there was a lack of clarity over whether some of the materials originally notified to the CPNP were actually nanomaterials.

And an inaccurate list may cause "unnecessary concern and misunderstanding and may, to an extent, undermine the credibility of our approach to nanomaterials regulation," he says.