WRITTEN QUESTION P-2248/03 by Caroline Lucas (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Nanotechnology.
Date: 2003-07-01
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: applied research, consumer protection, cosmetic product, health control, new technology, product safety, prospective technological studies

26.2.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 51 E/231

(2004/C 51 E/250)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2248/03

by Caroline Lucas (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(1 July 2003)

Subject: Nanotechnology

the use of nanoparticles in cosmetic products? If so, what kind of
Is the Commission aware of
nanoparticles are currently being used in what kind of cosmetics and which companies are marketing
them in the EU?

Nanoparticles have different properties as compared to larger particles of the same compounds. Have
adequate safety assessments been made with regard to the use of nanoparticles in cosmetics? In what way
has such safety assessment differentiated between different sizes and shapes of particles of the same
compound? Where it is currently impossible to accurately predict the toxic effects of nanoparticles, does
the Commission agree that such use should be prohibited?

What other uses of nanoparticles in consumer products is the Commission aware of, and what safety
assessments have been made for them?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(24 July 2003)

Nanotechnology encompasses many different (scientific) areas and can be seen as an ‘enabling’ technology,
which can have an impact in many different technology areas.

Council Directive 76/768/EEC (1) states as a general principle that only cosmetic products that do not cause
damage to human health can be put on the market (Article 2 of the Directive). Therefore, cosmetic
products can only contain safe ingredients.

(Article 7a of

Regarding an adequate safety assessment of cosmetic products, there is an obligation for the manufacturer
to keep information on its cosmetic products readily accessible for the control authorities of the Member
States
information must contain the physico-chemical and
microbiological specifications of the raw materials and the finished product as well as the assessment of
the safety for human health of the finished product, taking into consideration the general toxicological
profile of its ingredients and its chemical structure.

the Directive). This

In its ‘Notes of guidance for testing of cosmetic ingredients for their safety evaluation’ (2) the Scientific
Committee on Cosmetic Products and Non-Food Products intended for Consumers (SCCNFP) has stated
that the precise chemical nature of the ingredient and its structural formula, if it is known, should be
identified in the safety assessment file. The evaluation of a cosmetic ingredient should be carried out with
respect to its physical, chemical and physico-chemical properties. This means that regardless of the process
used to manufacture it and the particle size of a given ingredient used in cosmetic products, the above
safety requirements need to be fulfilled before this ingredient can be used in cosmetics. Therefore, there are
no specific requirements for ingredients produced with nanotechnology.

In relation to other consumer products containing chemical substances, or medicinal products for human
use, or veterinary medicinal products, the existing evaluation procedures take place according to the
normal requirements provided for in the legislation related to each sector.

(1) Council Directive 76/768/EEC of 27 July 1976 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to

cosmetic products, OJ L 262, 27.9.1976.

(2) http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/sccp/out130_en.pdf.