On the 20th of July 2023, the European Commission released the 6th CMR Omnibus Regulation. This regulation implements the 18th Adaptation to Technical Progress (ATP) of the EU Classification, Labelling, and Packaging (CLP) Regulation into the EU Cosmetic Products Regulation.
The 6th CMR Omnibus introduces 30 new entries to Annex II, a few of the key entries are listed below:
- Benzophenone: carcinogenic 1B
- Theophylline: reprotoxic 1B
- Melamine: carcinogenic 2
- Margosa (azadirachta indica) extract: Reprotoxic 2
- Trimethylolpropane triacrylate: carcinogenic 2
- Pentetic acid: reprotoxic 1B
- Pentasodium pentetate: reprotoxic 1B
- 2-ethylhexanoic acid and its salts:
- 2-ethylhexanoic acid and 2-ethylhexanoic acid nickel salt are already found in Annex II of the EU Cosmetic Products Regulation and therefore already banned from use in cosmetics
- 2-ethylhexanoic acid zinc salt (INCI name zinc ethylhexanoate) is currently not listed in Annexes of the EU Cosmetics Regulation and may therefore be used as a cosmetic ingredient. It is expected that this ingredient will be banned for use in cosmetics and added to Annex II of the EU Cosmetic Products Regulation
The effective date of the 6th CMR Omnibus is set for 1st December 2023, signifying the deadline for making these products available on the market (off-shelf).
It’s important to note that the 6th CMR Omnibus will not automatically be incorporated into the UK Cosmetics Regulation. For inclusion in the UK Cosmetics Regulation, it must undergo independent scientific scrutiny in the UK. Some of the substances listed in the 6th CMR Omnibus are presently undergoing mandatory CMR classification under GB CLP.
