Citral 🍋 and new SCCS opinion - are there any changes that beauty industry should prepare for?

12/09/2024

I could start this post by giving you a typical definition “Citral -​​ a volatile, monoterpene aldehyde…”.

 

But instead, let`s try to present this ingredient in a more creative way:

 

✨ Think of a perfume with energizing and refreshing notes. Or one that you love to use in the morning for a boost of energy.

 

✨Or imagine you are in the south of Spain. It is a warm, sunny day and you are surrounded by orange trees.

 

What kind of scent recalls your imagination?

 

Yesss, that's right - you are thinking about Citral!

 

 

A brief introduction of Citral

 

Citral is one of the most distinctive scents that brings those vibrant and refreshing citrus notes that we all know and love. Along with Limonene, it is one of the most important and commonly used fragrance and flavours from the citrus family.

 

Citral can be found in the majority of essential oils including those isolated from lemon myrtle, lemongrass, lemon tea tree, lemon verbena, limes, orange, and of course lemons themselves 🍋🍋🍋

 

But besides being one of the most popular fragrances, Citral is often used in the manufacture of soaps to bring out the rose notes.

 

 

👼 Lemon-like pleasant odour versus skin-sensitization 👿

 

Why using Citral can be so problematic? 

 

Probably because it is used too often or too much!

 

Citral is literally everywhere... not only in cosmetics. We use it as a fragrance and flavour in food, beverages and household products.

 

It's no wonder that our skin might be overexposed to Citral. And overexposure later leads to skin sensitization and allergies.

 

You can have too much of a good thing, and yess that also applies to a pleasant odour of Citral. 

 

The main cause of skin allergies and Allergic Contact Dermatitis (ACD) is a frequent exposure to certain chemicals and as observed fragrance ingredients play a dominant role in this context.That's why institutions like International Fragrance Association (IFRA) and Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety are obligated to subject such compounds to a safety evaluation and investigate their role in skin sensitization and allergy induction. 

 

 

🧾 Citral - current cosmetic restrictions and labeling obligations

 

✅ Currently, Citral is classified as a fragrance ingredient and allergen under entry 70 of Annex III to the Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council (that applies in the EU and UK).

 

✅ Since most SCCS opinions associate the use of fragrance allergens with adverse health effects, the EU has introduced an obligation to inform consumers about the presence of individual allergens in cosmetic products. 

 

All this in order to ensure a protection against contact with substances to which consumers are or might be allergic.

 

✅ As stated in the Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/1545 of 26 July 2023, the presence of Citral should be indicated in the list of ingredients (INCI list) when its concentration exceeds:

 

  • 0.001% in leave-on products;

  • 0.01% in rinse-off products.

 

 

⚠️ Recent SCCS`s opinion on Citral - should we prepare for any changes?

 

I will calm everyone down - at this time, SCCS has no plans to change the restrictions on the use of Citral.

 

✅ By using the QRA2 methodology (new Quantitative Risk Assessment method), Citral was found to be safe with respect to causing skin sensitisation when used according to the valid restrictions.

 

And briefly about the QRA2 methodology itself - according to the experts - QRA2 is indeed an improvement on the previously used QRA method. However, more research is needed to confirm the suitability of this method for fragrances and other cosmetic ingredients.

 

⚠️ But that also means that in the case of Citral and its safety assessment a certain clarification can be expected in the near future.

 

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References

 SCCS (Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety), Opinion on Citral (CAS No. 5392-40-5, EC No. 226-394-6) - sensitisation endpoint, preliminary version of 27 March 2024, final version of 29 July 2024, SCCS/1666/24