Taiwan’s FDA amends Safe Guidance of Cosmetic Products concerning uses by children

On August 17, 2022, Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published an amendment to the Safe Guidance of Cosmetic products used by children. The new amendment specifies certain chemicals should not be used cosmetic used by children. To summarize the new requirements:

• Infant related cosmetic products should not contain Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, in addition to Candida albicans specified in the previous guidance.
• Cosmetic products containing Calcium salicylate, Magnesium salicylate, MEA-salicylate 、 Sodium salicylate, Potassium salicylate, TEA-salicylate need to specify children below three years should not use (shampoo related product are exception). In the earlier guidance, only salicylic acid is mentioned.
• Cosmetic products containing Hydrogen peroxide, Urea peroxide should include label “children under 12 years old are not recommended to use”.
• Cosmetic products containing ingredients of Camphor, Menthol, Methyl Salicylate should include label “children below 2 years old are recommended to not use”. Earlier, it only mentions use before consulting doctors or pharmacist.
• Nail polisher related cosmetics that contain ingredients Toluene should include label, “avoid contact with children”  
• Ccosmetics products ingredients Thioglycolic acid, Potassium hydroxide, Sodium hydroxide should include “should storage at site not reachable by children”  
• For non-medicinal toothpastes with a fluoride content of 0.1 to 0.15%, if there is no indication that children are prohibited from using it, it should be stated as "The maximum size of rice grains per time for children under 3 years old; the maximum size of a pea per time for children aged 3 to 6 years," And try to avoid swallowing.”
• Non-medicated toothpastes and mouthwashes contain Strontium compounds should include labels “Not recommended for frequent use on children”  
• Cosmetics contain talc (Talc) ingredients, it is recommended to label "keep away from mouth and nose when children use it".
• Cosmetics containing Iodopropynyl butylcarbamate should be marked with the precaution "Not for use by children under 3 years old" (bath and shampoo products are exempt from the precautions)
• Oral, lip and eye cosmetics contain silver chloride should label “Not for use by children under 3 years old”.
• Cosmetics contain ingredients of Butylparaben, Propylparaben, Sodium propylparaben, Sodium butylparaben, Potassium butylparaben, Potassium propylparaben should include lable: “Do not use on children under 3 years of age on the diaper area”
• Cosmetic products containing ingredients of Ethyl lauroyl arginate HCl should include label of “Not for use by children under 10 years old”.

The Safe Guidance of Cosmetic products used by children was first published in 2016 to ensure safety of cosmetic products used by children. With this new guidance, cosmetic companies will need to include those labels or warning text on their products.