Cosmetics & Personal Care | Monthly bulletin | November 2021
Eurofins Cosmetics & Personal Care supports Gustave Roussy
Contributing to global health and safety and protecting the environment are commitments of all Eurofins companies.
In the continuity of Pink October and in line with Eurofins’ values, Eurofins Cosmetics & Personal Care is pleased to support an initiative by Gustave Roussy, leading European Cancer Center by contributing to a specific project concerning breast cancer. Women over 60 with localised cancer can now undergo their radiotherapy treatment within five days, instead of over three to five weeks. This is a first in terms of care and organisation: this 5-day radiotherapy course is based on hypofractionated and personalised radiation therapy and new technologies (artificial intelligence, scripted dosimetry, etc.) that make it possible to compress the preparation time for sessions and reduce the number needed.
All laboratories in our Cosmetics & Personal Care business line have joined forces to contribute to the wellbeing of women by creating a warm, pleasant and relaxing space.
Eurofins joins CosPaTox Consortium (Cosmetics, Packaging and Toxicology)
Eurofins has joined CosPaTox Consortium, a global sector packaging initiative.
New membership will help to develop safety guidelines for the safe use of post-consumer plastic recyclates used in cosmetic packaging and support Eurofins’ approach to help clients in their safety and sustainable packaging development.
The Consortium CosPaTox aim is to accomplish specific safety standards for high-quality Post-Consumer Plastic Recyclates (PCRs) for cosmetics and other household packaging, as well as the implementation of on-site measurement methods for recyclers.
As active contributors to the working packages, we will contribute to the development of standardised test methods, quality control procedures and a defined toxicological risk assessment approach for post-consumer recycled material for household, cosmetic and hygiene applications setting new industry standards to increase the use of PCR plastic materials in consumer packaging in line with the EU Action Plan for a circular economy.
Eurofins will share toxicology, recycling, testing know-how and experience.
Ensure Essential Oils for a safe use with a 3-step strategy
Essential oils have seen a revival in popularity. They are widely incorporated into modern skin care products because of their complexity of active compounds with anti-ageing, antimicrobial, sun protection and whitening properties, as well as their strong and characteristic fragrance. The increased interest in essential oils and botanical extracts in recent years has been amplified by the “back to nature” trend across the global cosmetics industry.
Essential oils are highly concentrated, volatile plant extracts obtained through different extraction methods. There are thousands of known essential oils, with about 300 oils commercially available, all of which boast different health and lifestyle benefits.
While several oils may aid healing and skin toning, other elixirs can spark serious skin reactions and even chemical burns due to allergies and phototoxicity. Of the 26 allergenic fragrances currently defined in the EU Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, 18 can be found as Ingredient of essential oils and must be declared on the packaging if the concentration is higher than 0.001% (10 ppm) in leave-on products and higher than 0.01% (100 ppm) in rinse-off products. Citrus oils in particular can cause skin reactions in connection with direct sunlight even in low concentrations (less than 1%) and may have a phototoxic effect.
When used in products like massage oil, hair oil or skincare products, dilution is the most important measure for the safe use of essential oils. Carefully selected vegetable oils can add further positive health effects to the product. For a complete safety assessment of the end product, an examination of the vegetable oil is recommended. Depending on the focus, different testing strategies can be applied.
Contaminants can be introduced during the production, preparation and storage of vegetable oils and fats. These include Mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOSH, POSH, MOAH), Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, Pesticides, Phthalates, Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), Volatile chlorinated hydrocarbons and Dioxins.
Identity: In order to achieve full conformity with the product declaration, the vegetable oil can be identified in order to detect or exclude having been blending with low-quality oils. Depending on the product composition, different analytical methods can be used to provide regulatory security, for example, the fatty acid spectrum, triglyceride, sterol distribution, Tocopherol pattern or fat-soluble vitamins.
Quality parameters are used to estimate the degree of freshness of the oil. Chemical reactions, due to the progressive oxidation of the vegetable oil, can lead to undesirable olfactory changes in the end product. The shelf life and antioxidant potential can be determined by measuring water content, and detecting volatile compounds, peroxide value and polymer triglycerides (proof of thermal treatment), and through sensory-analytical monitored storage tests.
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