The European Commission has submitted to public comments a draft Regulation that would ban three fragrance allergens - HICC, Atranol and Chloroatranol - from all cosmetic products.
According to the draft, the three substances will be included in the list of "Prohibited Substances" (Annex II of Regulation 1223/2009).
Actually, the use of these substances in cosmetic products was considered unsafe for human health by the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) in its opinion of 26–27 June 2012. According to the Committee, these three fragrance allergens were the cause of the highest number of contact allergies cases in past years.
The final vote by the European Commission is expected by mid-March 2017. The text will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU. Two years after the date of entry into force, cosmetic products containing one or more of the substances prohibited by this Regulation shall not be placed on the Union market. Four years after the date of entry into force cosmetic products containing one or more of the substances prohibited by this Regulation shall be withdrawn from the Union market.
