European fragrance industry welcomes consumer safety focus of Omnibus package while suggesting improvements

IFRA welcomed the Commission’s effort to streamline certain requirements of the EU CLP Regulation  and clarify certain provisions of the Cosmetic Products Regulation (CLP). These changes should make it easier to support the health and safety of European consumers. In particular, the proposed amendments bring clarity to CLP labelling requirements. They also introduce some clarifications to better reflect the central role of safety assessment under the EU Cosmetics Regulation, and provide legal certainty on the approach for natural ingredients.

“The Commission’s proposal is a welcome step towards simplified and more effective regulation. However, some key fragrance ingredients, despite being safe for consumers, are increasingly at risk due to the domino effect of broader chemical rules, which do not account for their specific use in consumer products”, said Alexander Mohr, President of IFRA. “We therefore call on the co-legislators to strengthen the proposal further, in particular by acknowledging that dermal exposure remains the main way that consumers come into contact with cosmetics and fragrances”.

However, IFRA regrets that the European Commission did not take the opportunity to set clearer rules for route-relevant classification of substances to reflect how ingredients are actually used and how people are exposed to them. These should ensure relevant risk management measures and downstream product use controls can be coherently delivered and not remove safe and effective substances used to enable consumer health and wellbeing. There should be a more consistent and transparent process that allows industry to be part of the conversation. Since the revised CLP rules were adopted, it has become clear in practice that these areas need further refinement. 

“The cosmetic-related provisions in this proposal offer promising improvements, particularly by establishing clearer conditions for risk-based assessment and clarifying the regulatory approach for natural ingredients”, said Aurélie Perrichet, IFRA’s Regional Director for Europe, “We are committed to working constructively with policymakers to ensure a regulatory environment that recognizes the high safety standards of the fragrance industry, as well as its cultural significance and vital socio-economic contribution to Europe and its many regions”.