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CosmetoPack®II
This project, dedicated to the cosmetics industry and covering the entire value chain, was set up to develop methodologies for assessing the risks of container/content migration.
Polymeris, which has been involved in the project as a member for many years, became the legal entity in 2025, and is now in charge of managing the new phase of the CosmetoPack® II project.
The consortium was set up in 2011 by a handful of people with the vision of bringing together plastics manufacturers and cosmeticians representing the industry's value chain, around the issue of marketing responsibility and the risk of migration from the pack to the cosmetic product.
This project has enabled us to develop a methodology shared by all members, and to generate some very interesting results for the profession:
- Defining toxicological thresholds specific to cosmetics
- Comparison of cosmetic and food simulants
- Setting up training modules
Choosing toxicological thresholds: a challenge and a major issue.
It is indeed a challenge to satisfy both packaging manufacturers and cosmeticians, the former concerned with the safety of materials and the latter with the cosmetic safety of the consumer. It was therefore necessary to define an acceptable toxicological threshold, by substance, at both systemic and local levels. After comparing existing thresholds, identifying critical points and taking into account the units of measurement specific to the plastics and cosmetics industries, two thresholds - CPML (Cosmetic Product Migration Limit in mg of substance authorized to migrate/kg of cosmetic product) for plastics manufacturers and CSL (Cosmetic Safety Limit in µg/kg bw/d) for cosmetics manufacturers - and three calculation methods were finally established.
Test protocol, & cosmetic versus food simulants
In accordance with cosmetics regulation (EC) no. 1223/2009, safety assessment is a requirement for all packaging in direct contact with the cosmetic product. Although it is not mandatory to use food-grade materials for cosmetic packaging, the European Commission's guidelines for the application of Annex I to the Cosmetics Regulation (Decision No. 2013/674/EU) indicate that Regulation (EC) 1935/2004 on materials and articles in contact with foodstuffs is a useful reference for cosmetic packaging.
We therefore wanted to measure the effectiveness of food simulants for cosmetic applications, and compare them with simulants more representative of the industry. The test protocol was established in 4 phases: 1-Preparation of materials, 2-Development and validation of contaminant assay methods (BAV INSTITUT, Equipment: GC/MS/MS LC/MS/MS), 3-Migration conditions, 4-Comparison of kinetics, discussions and conclusions. For the migration analysis, two materials were selected as a priority: HDPE and PET, 5 dopants (target 2000 ppm - worst-case analysis) and 8 simulants - Ethanol/Water (50%), Ethanol 96°, Isooctane, Alkyl benzoate, Dimethicone, Shower gel (24%TA), W/O Emulsion, O/W Emulsion - resulting in over 2200 assays (LC/CPG) and 40 kinetic curves. In conclusion, the analyses demonstrated that certain simulants.
Training module
On the strength of our expertise, we have developed a training module entitled “CONTAINER-CONTENT INTERACTIONS IN COSMETICS” to help you understand the issues, both from a plastics manufacturer's and a cosmetician's point of view.
The next training date is scheduled for June 12, More info
A second module has been set up on “Cosmetic regulations and safety assessment”, more info
Join the project
The work program is continuing to produce tangible results, from both a technical and scientific point of view, on the safety of packaging used in cosmetics. Our objectives are to make the methodology more reliable, gain a better understanding of diffusion issues, adapt the protocol to recycled material grades, etc., through a thesis for which we are currently writing the program.
Would you like to join the project? Contact Charlotte Thevenet cosmetopack@polymeris.fr
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