Safety Assessment of Cosmetics in Europe

With the most current information on alternatives to animal testing and the extent to which they are implemented by the cosmetic industry, as well as data on the legal requirements for finished cosmetic products, this covers a full range of topics related to safety assessment of cosmetics in Europe and associated legal issues. Rogiers and Pauwes (both toxicology, Vrije U. Brussels) cover the current European regulatory framework for cosmetic products as well as the challenges of comprehensive safety assessments, including issues of exposure identification. They provide a critical analysis of data from the technical information files of finished products and evaluate the effectiveness of the cosmetic technical information files themselves, describe alternative methods to assess toxicity, irritation, and sensitization of organs and skin, and close with a review of the state of safety assessment of cosmetics in Europe and suggestions for future research.