- Latest available (Revised)
- Point in Time (18/09/2014)
- Original (As adopted by EU)
Commission Regulation (EU) No 1004/2014 of 18 September 2014 amending Annex V to Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on cosmetic products (Text with EEA relevance)
When the UK left the EU, legislation.gov.uk published EU legislation that had been published by the EU up to IP completion day (31 December 2020 11.00 p.m.). On legislation.gov.uk, these items of legislation are kept up-to-date with any amendments made by the UK since then.
Legislation.gov.uk publishes the UK version. EUR-Lex publishes the EU version. The EU Exit Web Archive holds a snapshot of EUR-Lex’s version from IP completion day (31 December 2020 11.00 p.m.).
Point in time view as at 18/09/2014.
There are currently no known outstanding effects for the Commission Regulation (EU) No 1004/2014, Introductory Text.
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. At the current time any known changes or effects made by subsequent legislation have been applied to the text of the legislation you are viewing by the editorial team. Please see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ for details regarding the timescales for which new effects are identified and recorded on this site.
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on cosmetic products(1), and in particular Article 31(1) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Parabens are regulated as preservatives in entry 12 of Annex V to Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products under the denomination 4-hydroxybenzoic acid and its salts and esters, with a maximum concentration of 0,4 % for single ester and 0,8 % for mixtures of esters.
(2) The Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS), established pursuant to Commission Decision 2008/721/EC(2), adopted an opinion on parabens in December 2010(3). This opinion was followed by a clarification of October 2011(4) in response to a unilateral decision by Denmark to ban propylparaben and butylparaben, their isoforms and their salts in cosmetic products for children under three years of age based on those substances' potential endocrine activity, taken in accordance with Article 12 of Council Directive 76/768/EEC(5). The conclusions of 2010 and 2011 were confirmed by the SCCS in an additional opinion of May 2013(6), which the Commission had requested in light of a new study on the reprotoxicity of propylparaben.
(3) In the above-mentioned opinions, which concerned all the long-chain parabens, the SCCS confirmed that methylparaben and ethylparaben are safe at the maximum authorized concentrations.
(4) Isopropylparaben, isobutylparaben, phenylparaben, benzylparaben and pentylparaben were banned by Commission Regulation (EU) No 358/2014(7).
(5) The SCCS concluded that the use of butylparaben and propylparaben as preservatives in finished cosmetic products is safe to the consumer, as long as the sum of their individual concentrations does not exceed 0,19 % (as esters).
(6) For general cosmetic products containing butylparaben and propylparaben, excluding specific products for the nappy area, the SCCS concluded that there was no safety concern for children of any age group as the margin of safety was based on very conservative assumptions, with regards to both toxicity and exposure.
(7) However, the SCCS maintained that concerning butylparaben and propylparaben present in leave-on cosmetic products designed for application on the nappy area of children below the age of six months, a risk could not be excluded in the light of both immature metabolism of such children and the possibility of damaged skin in the nappy area. Based on a worst case assumption of exposure, safety concerns might be raised.
(8) No concerns were raised on the safety of 4-Hydroxybenzoic acid and its salts (calcium paraben, sodium paraben, potassium paraben).
(9) The Commission considers that the continued use of butylparaben and propylparaben under the current conditions may constitute a potential risk for human health. It therefore considers that the conditions for their use should be aligned with the recommendations of the SCCS.
(10) For reasons of consistency with the current entry 12 of Annex V to Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, the recommended maximum concentration of 0,19 % as esters for the substances listed in entry 12a should be converted to be expressed into its equivalent as acid, 0,14 %. In addition, the sodium and potassium salts of butyl and propylparabens should be submitted to the same conditions of use as butyl and propylparabens themselves, given that the SCCS never reported a different behaviour (in the chemistry or toxicity) of the salts compared to the esters in any of its previous opinions.
(11) In the absence of any indication to the contrary from the SCCS, the maximum concentration of 0,8 % for the sum of all parabens contained in a cosmetic product already foreseen by entry 12 of Annex V to Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 should be maintained.
(12) In light of the concerns raised by the SCCS regarding the use of parabens in leave-on cosmetic products designed for application on the nappy area of children under the age of six months, and for practical reasons linked to the fact that products for infants are usually marketed for children under three years, butylparaben and propylparaben should be prohibited in leave-on cosmetic products designed for application on the nappy area of children below three years.
(13) Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 should therefore be amended accordingly.
(14) The application of the above-mentioned restrictions should be deferred to allow the industry to make the necessary adjustments to product formulations. In particular, undertakings should be granted six months to place on the market compliant products, and twelve months to withdraw from the market non-compliant products after the entry into force of this Regulation.
(15) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Cosmetic Products,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Commission Decision 2008/721/EC of 5 September 2008 setting up an advisory structure of Scientific Committees and experts in the field of consumer safety, public health and the environment and repealing Decision 2004/210/EC (OJ L 241, 10.9.2008, p. 21).
SCCS/1348/10 Revision 22 March 2011.
SCCS/1446/11.
Council Directive 76/768/EEC of 27 July 1976 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to cosmetic products (OJ L 262, 27.9.1976, p. 169).
SCCS/1514/13.
Commission Regulation (EU) No 358/2014 of 9 April 2014 amending Annexes II and V to Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on cosmetic products (OJ L 107, 10.4.2014, p. 5).
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As adopted by EU): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was first adopted in the EU. No changes have been applied to the text.
Point in Time: This becomes available after navigating to view revised legislation as it stood at a certain point in time via Advanced Features > Show Timeline of Changes or via a point in time advanced search.
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
This timeline shows the different versions taken from EUR-Lex before exit day and during the implementation period as well as any subsequent versions created after the implementation period as a result of changes made by UK legislation.
The dates for the EU versions are taken from the document dates on EUR-Lex and may not always coincide with when the changes came into force for the document.
For any versions created after the implementation period as a result of changes made by UK legislation the date will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. For further information see our guide to revised legislation on Understanding Legislation.
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including: