SFDA approves 3rd cosmetic ingredient in 5 months after four year silence

08-Aug-2012 - Last updated on 09-Aug-2012 at 15:18 GMT

Related tags Cosmetics

The China State Food and Drug Administration has approved a third new ingredient, ‘Phenylethyl Resorcinol’, since taking on the responsibilities of cosmetics management from the Ministry of Health since 2008.

The ingredient is used in skin whitening products and is part of the Administration’s effort to compile a new Inventory of Existing Cosmetic Ingredients in China (IECIC) to replace the old version issued in 2003.

In July, the SFDA published the second batch of the Inventory of Existing Cosmetic Ingredient in China (IECIC) for public consultations containing 673 ingredients while the first batch revised in May, included 1674.

According to the administration's hygiene supervision over cosmetics (1990), the use of new ingredients for cosmetics production must be approved first. The rules for the application of administrative licenses for cosmetics (2009) have also clearly indicated that the use of new ingredients in cosmetics in China must be licensed.

First ingredients to be approved since 2008

Back in March, the SFDA announced it had approved two new substances; Nivitol and PM-lysine after nearly nine months of public consultation.

According to the Chemical Inspection and Regulation Service (CIRS), this was the first time the administration approved new cosmetic ingredients since taking over licensing responsibilities from the Ministry of Health.

"There have only been eight new cosmetic ingredients approved so far by China since 2004,” CIRS.

What constitutes a new ingredient?

In China, a new cosmetic ingredient is defined as any natural or artificial cosmetic ingredient that is used in cosmetics in the country for the first time.

According to CIRS, an ingredient is not new if it meets the following criteria:

The ingredient has been used in cosmetics in China before and a safety assessment has been carried out.

The ingredient is included in the Inventory of Existing Cosmetic Ingredients in China (IECIC 2003) and is not a banned substance

The ingredient has been used in a licensed special use cosmetic product.

The ingredient is part of a plant that has been approved as cosmetic ingredient.

Updated rules

Back in 2010, the regulatory body updated its rules for cosmetic companies looking to access the Chinese marketplace which involved a new step to the application process as well as introducing the idea of local agents to represent international players in the registration system to avoid any language barriers.

Moreover, the regulator also made clear that from then on, it was to be the sole regulatory body of cosmetics products and that this responsibility no longer fell to the Ministry of Health.