EU Commission consults on MI restriction in cosmetics

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the proposed restriction on methylisothiazolinone (MI, or MIT) in cosmetic rinse-off products. The consultation ends on 1 July 2016.
 
The European Commission intends to restrict the use of MI to 15ppm in rinse-off products according to the assessment of by the Scientific Committee for Consumer Safety (SCCS). The current restriction of MI in Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009 (EU cosmetics regulation) is 100 ppm. The public consultation for the proposal of the European Commission in July was backed by majority of member states and consumer associations.
 
The preservative MI, especially that in wet wipes, will increase sensitation risk for children. If the proposal goes through, products containing the preservative will also need to be labelled "contains methylisothiazolinone".
 
In addition, the European Commission also intends to restrict or ban other preservatives in cosmetics, including polyaminopropyl biguanide (PHMB) and chloroacetamide.
 
In last November, the Official Journal of the European Union published Directive (EU) 2015/2117 to include requirement for preservative MI. The limit for MI in aqueous toy materials is 0.25 mg/kg.
 
Technical Safety Standard for Cosmetics in China take EU and other international standards as references. However, the substances and limits under control can be different. Cosmetics exporters should pay attention to amendment to EU cosmetics regulations to avoid trade barriers.