Good news (relative to the concerns previously justified on basis of the recommendations made by the Commission's advisory body)!
The European Commission propose that:
- The three substances which were found to be unsafe should be banned from cosmetic products,
- Additional allergens should be subject to the obligation of individual labelling on the package of a cosmetic product. In other words, they have to be mentioned in the list of ingredients, in addition to the words 'parfum' or 'aroma'.
Excerpt from the
Press Memo of the European Commission, February 13, 2014
Translation for ordinary mortals such as I:
To be banned:
-
Chloroatranol and
atranol, the main allergenic constituents of Evernia prunastri (oakmoss) and Evernia furfuracea (treemoss).
-
HICC / Lyral, a waxy floral fruity accord with excellent diffusivity that gives good body. Lyral features notes such as lily of the valley, cyclamen and linden blossom.
To be indicated in the list of ingredients when their concentration exceeds the homoeopathic dosage of 0.001% in leave-on products:
-
Cinnamal, the organic compound that gives cinnamon its odour
-
Cinnamyl Alcohol, found in esterified form in cinnamon leaves, Peru balsam and storax
-
Citral, present in the oils of several plants, incl. many citruses such as petitgrain, lime, lemon and orange
-
Coumarin, found naturally in many plants, notably in high concentration in the tonka bean
-
Eugenol, naturally occurring fragrance compound found in clove oil, nutmeg, cinnamon and bay leaf
-
Farnesol, present in many essential oils, e.g. citronella, neroli, cyclamen, lemon grass, tuberose, rose and tolu
-
Geraniol, the primary part of rose oil, palmarosa oil, geranium oil, lavender oil, jasmine oil and citronella oil
-
HICC / Lyral when occurring naturally
-
Hydroxycitronellal, occurs naturally, e.g. in lavender
-
Isoeugenol, occurs in the essential oils of plants such as nutmeg and ylang-ylang
-
Limonene, the rind of the lemon, like other citrus fruits, contains considerable amounts of this compound
-
Linalool, over 200 species of plants produce it, mainly mints, scented herbs, laurels, cinnamon, rosewood and citrus fruits, but also birch trees
The EU Commission acknowledged that further scientific work is needed to define safe concentration limits of chemicals of special concern, i.e. for the twelve above and another eight natural extracts.
If the proposal is not opposed, the formal adoption of those changes is expected to take place by the end of this year/early 2015.