The California Cosmetic Fragrance and Flavor Ingredient Right to Know Act of 2020 (SB 312) came into effect on January 1, 2022, and only applies to the State of California in the USA. Its purpose is to allow consumers and industry professionals to make informed purchasing decisions by providing them with cosmetic product ingredient information.
These regulations apply to cosmetic products intended for both professional and retail use. A cosmetic product is defined as an article whose intended use is to be applied to or introduced into the human body for beautifying, cleansing, changing appearance, or promoting attractiveness.
This regulation is mandatory for all cosmetic products sold in California and all companies which produce cosmetic products operating in the state. The manufacturer must provide information about flavor and fragrance ingredients in the cosmetic product to the Division of Environmental and Occupational Disease Control within the State Department of Public Health. These chemicals must be disclosed because they are included on a variety of different lists.
Fragrance allergens that are in a leave-on cosmetic product at a concentration equal to or above 0.001% (10 parts per million), or in a rinse-off product at a concentration at or above 0.01% (100 parts per million) are also required to be reported. The fragrance allergens that must be disclosed are included in Annex III of the EU Cosmetics Regulation No. 1223/2009.
The manufacturer must also report to the Division of Environmental and Occupational Disease Control whether the product is intended for retail cosmetic or professional use and the CAS (Chemical Abstracts Service) numbers of the disclosed ingredients. The UPC (Universal Product Code) number of the product is also required.
This information will be made available to the public through the California Safe Cosmetics Program Product Database.
As of the publication date of this blog post, there is little known information on the penalties for violating this law. California’s Unfair Competition Law allows private enforcers, and the California Attorney General to bring claims of non-compliance forwards. Under this law penalties for non-compliance could be up to $2,500 USD per violation.
For more information, Contact Us.