February 17, 2023, ECHA has released two substances that are proposed to be identified as substances of very high concern (SVHC) for public consultation. Related enterprises may make comments on the two substances before April 3, 2023.

On February 1, 2023, the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) of the European Union issued final opinion on α-arbutin and β-arbutin. The preliminary opinion on the safety of arbutin in cosmetics (SCCS/1642/22) was released on March 15-16, 2022.

On February 2, 2023, the European Union Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) issued the final safety opinion on aluminum in cosmetics (SCCS/1644/22). The preliminary comments on aluminum were released on May 6, 2022.

The Measures for the Environmental Management Registration of New Chemical Substances (MEE Order No.12) has entered into force since January 1, 2021. In accordance with its supporting document, the Guidelines for Environmental Management Registration of New Chemical Substances (hereinafter referred to as the “Guidelines”), polymers containing no more than 2% monomers or reactants of new chemical substances or belong to polymers of low concern can apply for records without quantity limitation if they are excluded in exemption circumstances.

On January 17 2023, ECHA has added 9 substances into the Candidate List of SVHCs. The Candidate List of very high concern (SVHCs) now contains 233 substances that may have serious effects on people or the environment.

FAQs on Cosmetics Registration and Filing in China-Safety Assessment

On December 29, 2022, US President Biden signed into law the Food and Drug Omnibus Reform Act (FDORA Act), which included the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MOCRA Act). This is the first significant amendment to American cosmetics regulations since 1938. Compared with the current Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDC Act), MOCRA Act forces cosmetic enterprises to register their facilities and maintain records for their products.

On November 23, 2022, the EU Commission released the Regulation (EU) 2022/2291 in the Official Journal of the European Union amending Part A of Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021, in which Unintentional Trace Contaminant (UTC) limit is set for hexachlorobenzene. The Regulation 2022/2291 shall enter into force on the twentieth day following its publication and be applicable in all Member States.

The Enforcement Forum of ECHA agreed that the next REACH enforcement project will investigate how companies fulfil the registration, authorisation and restriction obligations for products and chemicals they import from outside the EU. The project will be done in 2023-2025 and will require close cooperation between REACH enforcement and national customs authorities in the Member States.

There is a diverse range of cosmetic packaging materials, such as glass, metal, plastic, and soft paper packaging. As the last process in the modern cosmetics industry, packaging is necessary to keep the contents clean and safe. However, it is also important to make sure the packaging itself does not pollute the cosmetics or add any unsafe factors to the contents. In addition, consumers’ understanding and judgment of cosmetics products often relies on the information provided on the products and by the sellers, the display of such information, to a large extent, determines consumers’ purchasing decisions and use methods for products.