SCCS/1576/16 Final version of 6 October 2016 Corrigendum on 23 December 2016 Version S Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety SCCS OPINION ON Vitamin A (Retinol, Retinyl Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate) The SCCS adopted this Opinion at its 2nd plenary meeting on 6 October 2016 - CORRIGENDUM adopted by written procedure on 23 December 2016 - SCCS/1576/16 Final version of the Opinion on Vitamin A (Retinol, Retinyl Acetate and Retinyl Palmitate) and corrigendum __________________________________________________________________________________________ About the Scientific Committees Two independent non-food Scientific Committees provide the Commission with the scientific advice it needs when preparing policy and proposals relating to consumer safety, public health and the environment. The Committees also draw the Commission's attention to the new or emerging problems which may pose an actual or potential threat. They are: the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS), the Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) The Scientific Committees review and evaluate relevant scientific data and assess potential risks. Each Committee has top independent scientists from all over the world who are committed to work in the public interest.
In addition, the Commission relies upon the work of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the European Centre for Disease prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). SCCS The Committee, on request of Commission services, provides Opinions on questions concerning health and safety risks (notably chemical, biological, mechanical and other physical risks) of non-food consumer products (e. cosmetic products and their ingredients, toys, textiles, clothing, personal care and household products such as detergents, etc.: tattooing, artificial sun tanning, etc. Scientific Committee members Ulrike Bernauer, Laurent Bodin, Leonardo Celleno, Qasim Chaudhry, Pieter Jan Coenraads, Maria Dusinska, Jeanne Duus-Johansen, Janine Ezendam, Eric Gaffet, Corrado Lodovico Galli, Berit Granum, Eirini Panteri, Vera Rogiers, Christophe Rousselle, Maciej Stepnik, Tamara Vanhaecke, Susan Wijnhoven Contact European Commission Health and Food Safety Directorate C: Public Health, Country Knowledge and Crisis Management Unit C2 – Country Knowledge and Scientific Committees L-2920 Luxembourg SANTE-C2-SCCS@ec.eu © European Union, 2016 ISSN 1831-4767 ISBN 978-92-79-65659-0 Doi:10.2875/642264 EW-AQ-17-003-EN-N The Opinions of the Scientific Committees present the views of the independent scientists who are members of the committees.
They do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission. The Opinions are published by the European Commission in their original language only.eu/health/scientific_committees/consumer_safety/index_en.htm 2 SCCS/1576/16 Final version of the Opinion on Vitamin A (Retinol, Retinyl Acetate and Retinyl Palmitate) and corrigendum __________________________________________________________________________________________ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS SCCS members listed below are acknowledged for their valuable contribution to the finalisation of this Opinion. Duus-Johansen Dr J. Rogiers Dr Ch.
Wijnhoven The additional contribution for the drafting of the preliminary Opinion of former members of the SCCS (2013-2016) and external experts listed below is gratefully acknowledged. Former SCCS Members Prof. van Benthem External experts Prof. Giménez-Arnau Dr.
Mirkova This Opinion has been subject to a commenting period of a minimum four weeks after its initial publication. Comments received during this time were considered by the SCCS and discussed in the subsequent plenary meetings. For this Opinion, comments received resulted in the following changes that have been adopted on 23 December 2016 by written procedure: chapter 3.2 Function and uses, SCCS general conclusion on the repeated dose toxicity of Vitamin A (page 51), chapter 3.7 Human data and the respectives conclusions number 2 and 3. A corrigendum on impurities on pages 11, 63 and 70 as well as acknowledgments.
Keywords: SCCS, scientific opinion, Vitamin A (Retinol, Retinyl Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate), Regulation 1223/2009, CAS n. 11103-57-4 / 68-26-8 / 127-47-9 / 79-81-2, EC 234-328-2 / 200-683-7 / 204-844-2 / 201-228-5 Opinion to be cited as: SCCS (Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety), Opinion on Vitamin A (Retinol, Retinyl Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate), SCCS/1576/16, 20 April 2016, final version of 6 October 2016, CORRIGENDUM on 23 December 2016 3 SCCS/1576/16 Final version of the Opinion on Vitamin A (Retinol, Retinyl Acetate and Retinyl Palmitate) and corrigendum __________________________________________________________________________________________ Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. TERMS OF REFERENCE .1 Chemical and Physical Specifications.4 Purity, composition and substance codes .5 Impurities / accompanying contaminants .8 Additional physical and chemical specifications .9 Homogeneity and Stability .2 Function and uses .2 Irritation and corrosivity .3 Dermal / percutaneous absorption.4 Repeated dose toxicity .6 Photo-induced toxicity .1 Exposure from cosmetic products .2 Exposure from other sources. 71 4 SCCS/1576/16 Final version of the Opinion on Vitamin A (Retinol, Retinyl Acetate and Retinyl Palmitate) and corrigendum __________________________________________________________________________________________ 1.
BACKGROUND Vitamin A (CAS n. 68-26-8 / 11103-57-4/ 116-31-4) constitutes a group of lipid-soluble compounds including retinol, retinyl palmitate, retinyl acetate, retinyl linoleate and retinal. Vitamin A is a lipophilic-soluble Vitamin and as such a micronutrient essential for most of mammalian species. The risk characterisation for general use of Vitamin A for all age groups is based on the tolerable upper intake levels (UL) derived from earlier opinions from the Scientific Committee of Food (SCF)1 and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)2.
In 2002, the SCF considered that the upper level of 3000 μg RE (retinol equivalents) /day is appropriate for all women of child-bearing age but also for men and for infants and children after correction for differences in metabolic rate. In 2008, EFSA considered that a maximum intake of 1500 μg RE/day would serve as a guidance level (GL) for individuals at greater risk of osteoporosis and bone fracture (particularly post-menopausal women). In January 2012, the Commission received some documents from German authorities requesting a safety assessment of Vitamin A in cosmetics products (BfR, 2012). According to the Member State, the use of retinol and its esters in cosmetics should be restricted in view of increasing number of products containing Vitamin A, increasing concentrations and/or greater penetration (e.
as a result of packaging in liposomes) and the fact that the UL is already exceeded by some parts of the population. In February 2012, a safety dossier was submitted by Cosmetics Europe3 to support the continuous use of Vitamin A in cosmetic product. It relates to the use of retinol, retinyl palmitate and retinyl acetate as cosmetic ingredients at maximum use concentrations of 0.05% RE in body lotions, 0.3% RE in hand and face creams as well as in other leave-on or rinse-off products. In July 2013, The Commission received the Norwegian risk assessment of the use of Vitamin A (retinol and retinyl esters) in cosmetic products.
The Commission asked the opinion of the European Medicine Agency (EMA) to exclude the possibility that, at maximum use concentrations of 0.05% RE in body lotions, 0.3% RE in hand and face creams as well as in other leave-on or rinse-off products, Vitamin A could be considered a medicinal product instead of a cosmetic product. EMA replied that "locally applied products containing Vitamin A at the maximum concentrations of 0.05% (retinol equivalents) in body lotions, 0.3% (retinol equivalents) in hand and face creams as well as in other leave-on or rinse-off products, are not considered to be medicinal products by virtue of their function.eu/food/fs/sc/scf/out145_en.pdf 2 http://www.eu/en/ndatopics/docs/ndatolerableuil.pdf 3 Cosmetics Europe- European Cosmetics Toiletry and Perfumery Association 5 SCCS/1576/16 Final version of the Opinion on Vitamin A (Retinol, Retinyl Acetate and Retinyl Palmitate) and corrigendum __________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. TERMS OF REFERENCE (1) On the basis of data provided does the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) consider Vitamin A (retinol, retinyl palmitate, retinyl acetate, retinyl linoleate and retinal) safe when used as cosmetic ingredient: a) in body lotions up to the maximum concentration of 0.05 % of retinol equivalent? b) in hand/face cream, leave-on (other than body lotions) and rinse-off products up to the concentration of 0.3 % of retinol equivalent ? If no, what concentration limits in the above mentioned categories of cosmetic products does the SCCS consider Vitamin A to be safe? (2) The SCCS is asked, when making the assessment, to take into account the specific age and sex groups who might be particularly susceptible to the effects of Vitamin A, such as the use of lip products for fertile age and postmenopausal women.1 Chemical and Physical Specifications As no data were specifically reported for retinal and retinol linoleate in the dossier submitted by the applicant, these two vitamin A derivatives are not included in this opinion.1 Chemical identity The term "Vitamin A" refers to a group of substances, the retinoids, including retinol (Vitamin A1) and substances with similar structures with the biological characteristics of retinol.1 Primary name and/or INCI name Retinol Retinyl acetate Retinyl palmitate 3.2 Chemical names Retinol: Chemical name: All-trans-3, 7-dimethyl-9-(2, 6, 6-trimethyl-1-cyclohexen-1-yl)-2, 4, 6, 8- nonatetraen-1-ol Retinyl acetate: Chemical name: All-trans-3, 7-dimethyl-9-(2, 6, 6-trimethyl-1-cyclohexen-1-yl)-2, 4, 6, 8- nonatetraene-1-yl acetate Retinyl palmitate: Chemical name: All-trans-3, 7-dimethyl-9-(2, 6, 6-trimethyl-1-cyclohexen-1-yl)-2, 4, 6, 8- nonatetraene-1-yl palmitate (References: 18, 20, 37, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 76) 3.3 Trade names and abbreviations Retinol: Acon, Afaxin, Agiolan, Alphsterol, Epiteliol, Testavol Retinyl acetate: Vitamin Acetate Retinyl palmitate: Arovit, Testavol S; Vitamin A Palmitate (Reference: 71) 3.4 Synonyms Retinol: Synonyms: All-trans-retinol 7 SCCS/1576/16 Final version of the Opinion on Vitamin A (Retinol, Retinyl Acetate and Retinyl Palmitate) and corrigendum __________________________________________________________________________________________ All-trans-retinyl-alcohol Vitamin A alcohol 15-apo-(3-caroten-15-ol) Axerol Axerophthol Axerophtholum Biosterol (E)-3, 7-dimethyl-9-(2, 6, 6-trimethylcyclohex-enyl)-2, 4, 6, 8- nonatetraenol (E)-3, 7-dimethyl-9-(2, 6, 6-trimethylcyclohexen- l -yl)-2, 4, 6, 8- nonatetraenol (E)-9-hydroxy-3, 7-dimethyl-9-(2, 6, 6-trimethylcyclo-hexenyl)-1, 3, 5, 7-Nonatetraene OleoVitamin A Retinol Trans-retinol 2-trans, 4-trans Vitamin A Vitamin A alcohol Vitaminum A Retinyl acetate: Synonyms: All-trans-Vitamin A acetate Vitamin A acetate Acetic acid (E) -3, 7-dimethyl-9-(2, 6, 6-trimethyl-cyclohexenyl)-2, 4, 6, 8-nonatetraenylester Acetic acid retinyl ester All-trans-retinyl acetate All-trans-retinol acetate O-acetoxy-all-trans-retinol O-acetyl-all-trans-retinol Retinylacetate 2-trans, 4-trans, 6-trans, 8-trans-retinolacetate 2-trans, 4-trans, 6-trans, 8-trans-retinylacetate Rac Retinyl palmitate: Synonyms: All-trans-Retinyl palmitate Retinyl palmitate Palmitic acid (E)-3, 7-dimethyl-9-(2, 6, 6-trimethyl-cyclohexenyl)-2, 4, 6, 8-nonatetraenyl ester Palmitic acid retinyl ester O-palmitoyl-all-trans-retinol O-palmitoyl-retinol Retinylpalmitate 2-trans, 4-trans, 6-trans, 8-trans-retinylpalmitate 2-trans, 4-trans, 6-trans, 8-trans-retinol palmitate Retinol hexadecanoate Trans-retinol palmitate Trans-retinyl palmitate RP (References: 18, 20, 37, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 76) 8 SCCS/1576/16 Final version of the Opinion on Vitamin A (Retinol, Retinyl Acetate and Retinyl Palmitate) and corrigendum __________________________________________________________________________________________ 3.5 CAS / EC number Vitamin A: CAS: 11103-57-4 EC: 234-328-2 Retinol: CAS: 68-26-8 EC: 200-683-7 Retinyl acetate: CAS: 127-47-9 EC: 204-844-2 Retinyl palmitate: CAS: 79-81-2 EC: 201-228-5 3.7 Empirical formula Retinol: C20H30O Retinyl acetate: C22H32O2 9 SCCS/1576/16 Final version of the Opinion on Vitamin A (Retinol, Retinyl Acetate and Retinyl Palmitate) and corrigendum __________________________________________________________________________________________ Retinyl palmitate: C36H60O2 (References: 18, 20, 37, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 76) 3.2 Physical form Retinol: Pale yellow oil, which may crystallise at low temperatures Retinyl acetate: Pale yellow prisms or yellow supercooled melt, viscous liquid Retinyl palmitate: Yellow, crystalline or amorphous powder 3.3 Molecular weight Retinol: 286.5 g/mol Retinyl acetate: 328.5 g/mol Retinyl palmitate: 524.4 Purity, composition and substance codes Representative examples of marketed products are provided in the following paragraphs., Retinol 10 S, 15 D, 50 C): Purity: ≥95% (all-trans retinol) ≤5% (cis-isomers) International units (IU): 330000–370000 IU/g (Retinol 10 S) 500000–530000 IU/g (Retinol 15 D) 1425000–1650000 IU/g (Retinol 50 C) Stabiliser: Butylhydroxytoluol (BHT) or Butylhydroxyanisol (BHA) Retinyl acetate (e.5 mio IU/g): Appearance: viscous-yellow oil, may crystallize on storage Peroxide value: <10 meq/kg Acid value: <2.0 mg/ KOH/g International units (IU): 1500000 IU/g Stabiliser: Tocopherol or BHT Retinyl palmitate (e.7 mio IU/g): Appearance: viscous-yellow oil, may crystallize on storage Peroxide value: <10 meq/kg Acid value: <2.0 mg/ KOH/g International units (IU): 1000000 or 1700000 IU/g Stabiliser: Tocopherol, BHT, or BHA All toxicological study data presented in section 6 (Toxicological evaluation) were checked for information on purity and composition. The respective information has been provided where available.
10 SCCS/1576/16 Final version of the Opinion on Vitamin A (Retinol, Retinyl Acetate and Retinyl Palmitate) and corrigendum __________________________________________________________________________________________ (References: 18, 20, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 57, 58) Table 1 presents purity data for different batches of retinyl acetate, retinyl palmitate and retinol: Compound Batch No Purity Study (Ref.53 mio IU/g Acute toxicity (ref 7) acetate USP XIX (526 Mucous membrane irritation (ref 6) mg RAc/g) 805043 1.