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Health Canada (HC) has recently added and amended several new ingredients to the Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist, which is a list of prohibited and restricted substances in cosmetic products. The following new additions were made:
Items Added to the List:
- Basic green 4: This ingredient was added to the list of prohibited substances due to potential developmental effects, as assessed by the Government of Canada's Chemicals Management Plan (CMP) under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999).
- Benzophenone: This ingredient was added to the list of restricted substances due to adverse maternal effects such as decreased body weight, as assessed by the Government of Canada's CMP under the CEPA 1999.
- p-Chloro-m-cresol: This ingredient was added to the list of restricted substances due to health concerns regarding the adrenal organs, as assessed by the Government of Canada's CMP under the CEPA 1999.
- Solvent violet 13: This ingredient was added to the list of restricted substances due to health concerns, as assessed by the Government of Canada's CMP under the CEPA 1999.
Items Amended to the List:
- Dialkanolamines, secondary: This entry was amended to include secondary alkyl- and alkanolamines and their salts for clarity. These substances have similar potential to act as precursors of carcinogenic nitrosamines.
- Alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs): This entry was amended to clarify that PolyHydroxy Acids (PHAs) and bionic acids with alpha-hydroxyl groups, as well as their salts, are included. They meet the chemical definition of AHAs and there is insufficient information to support that PHAs are less likely to cause irritation or sun sensitivity than other AHAs. Additionally, the maximum permitted concentration for the consumer use category was increased from 10% to 18%. The expansion of the consumer use category was a result of a retrospective analysis of Evidence of Safety data submitted to HC for professional-use cosmetic products. Other amendments include updated warnings and cautionary statements and additional product-specific directions for safe use.
- Hydroquinone: This entry was amended to expand the permitted nail product categories to include products for consumer use, increase the maximum concentration permitted for these products, and introduce a combined limit when both p-hydroxyanisole and hydroquinone are used in a nail product.
- p-Hydroxyanisole: This entry was amended to introduce a combined limit when both p-hydroxyanisole and hydroquinone are used in a nail product.
- Talc: This entry was amended to help reduce chronic inhalation exposure to talc in cosmetics that may result in non-cancer lung effects (such as inflammation or fibrosis), as well as genital exposure to the population with intact ovary/ovaries, which may result in ovarian cancer, as assessed by the Government of Canada's CMP under the CEPA 1999. Cautionary statements related to acute inhalation risks were also adjusted to include all loose powder products.
These new additions and amendments to the Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist demonstrate HC's ongoing efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of Canadian consumers by regulating the use of potentially harmful substances in cosmetic products.
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