The UK is assessing the safety of some cosmetic materials following the process of leaving the European Union. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), which falls under the Department for Business and Enterprise, has launched two calls for data on cosmetic nanomaterials and cosmetic ingredients suspected of being endocrine disruptors, respectively.
As reported by 'Cosmetics Business' and detailed on the UK authorities' website, the OPSS invites interested parties, ranging from academia to manufacturers of cosmetic products and raw materials to consumer associations, to submit any scientific information relevant to the safety assessment of various nanomaterials - or variants - used in cosmetics.
These include nanoforms of platinum, copper, silver, colloidal silver, gold, colloidal gold, gold thioethylamino hyaluronic acid, silica, hydrated silica, silica silicate, silica silicate, silica dimethylsilicate, lithium silicate, magnesium and sodium silicate, and hydroxyapatite.
The deadline for information on nanoformed silica, hydrated silica, silica silicate and silica dimethylsilicate is 27 June 2025, while all other substances have a deadline of 22 December 2023. For endocrine disruptors, the list of chemicals of concern includes triclosan, triclocarban, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor, salicylic acid, butylparaben and methylparaben, with a submission deadline of 15 December 2023. The authority invites interested parties to submit, via e-mail, the original study reports and the full bibliography of all data on which the safety assessment is based.
The OPSS has further explained that the UK Scientific Advisory Group on Chemical Safety (SAG-CS) now uses 70 kg as the default body weight assumption for adults in the new safety assessments, which is considered representative for the UK adult population. The Office of Product Safety and Standards has indicated that, depending on the results of the scientific review, it will take the necessary measures to ensure consumer safety. This means that certain ingredients will be banned or restricted if they are found to be harmful or pose a risk to human health.
In cosmetic products, nanomaterials are insoluble or biopersistent and intentionally manufactured materials with one or more external dimensions (or internal structure) on the scale of 1nm to 100nm. They are subject to close scrutiny because of the potential risks associated with their size. Endocrine disruptors are natural or man-made chemicals that can mimic, block or interfere with the body's hormones.