Health Canada introduced a requirement to disclose certain fragrance allergens on the product label. On April 24, 2024, the finalized amendments to the Cosmetic Regulations were published in the Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 158, Number 9. The updated regulations require certain fragrance allergens to be labelled on product packaging to inform consumers the presence of these ingredients beside the term ‘parfum’ or ‘aroma’.
Fragrance allergen must be listed if
(a) in the case of a rinse-off product, the concentration of the fragrance allergen in the cosmetic is greater than 0.01%; or
(b) in the case of a leave-on product, the concentration of the fragrance allergen in the cosmetic is greater than 0.001%.
The amended Canadian Regulations incorporate the fragrance allergens identified in Annex III of European Commission’s Cosmetic Product Regulation 1223/2009 which include the 81 entries for disclosure on cosmetic labels when present above the defined concentration level. The implementation date is the same as the requirement on the European Commission’s regulation.
In case of a cosmetic with packaging too small for the label to comply with the requirements, the list of ingredients may appear on a tag, tape or card affixed to the container or on a website provided the outer label contains a statement specifying that the list of ingredients appears on that website and includes the location of the website.
