The personal care product sector in the European Union (EU) has had to work hard to comply with the 2012 biocidal products regulation, which will have significant implications for the use of preservatives in cosmetics. Manufacturers of biocidal products need to have their active ingredients registered for assessment by 1 September this year for them to be used in the EU.
In other major jurisdictions, however, there is a less clear set of regulatory controls for biocides, which are either being reformed, split between levels of government or incorporated into general environmental health controls.