PoreWise One finding · Official legal text · 2016
Document title
Opinion of the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) - Final version of the opinion on Phenoxyethanol in cosmetic products
- Kind of evidence
- Official legal text 2016 · Consumers of cosmetic products, including children · DOI 10.1016/j.yrtph.2016.11.007
- Measured outcome
- Legal limits
- Year
- 2016
- Who was studied
- Consumers of cosmetic products, including children
- Sample size
- Measured outcome
- The EU Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety concluded in 2016 that 2-phenoxyethanol is safe as a preservative at a maximum of 1.0%, which is the limit already set in Annex V/29 of the EU Cosmetics Regulation. It estimated a margin of safety of about 50 for children.
- Certainty
- High
- Who was measured
- Phenoxyethanol used as a preservative in cosmetic products, at or below 1.0%.
- Study limits
- The dossier behind the conclusion was submitted by Cosmetics Europe, the industry association, and the committee lowered the default toxicokinetic factor from 4.0 to 1.0 on its way to the 1.0% conclusion. The final opinion kept 1.0%.
Where it comes from
- Opinion of the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) - Final version of the opinion on Phenoxyethanol in cosmetic products
Published by European Commission, Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) · Last checked 2026-10-26
Ingredients it was measured on
Skin concerns studied
Other findings on the same ingredient or concern
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