Hong Kong Perfumery Association responds to the Consumer Council’s report on skin toner containing fragrance allergens published on 15 August 2023

[August 19, 2023] Consumer Council published on the website and choice magazine on August 15, 2023 with the title "9 Toners Detected with Fragrance Allergens Highest Alcohol Content Could Reach 34% Excessive Use May Induce Skin Dryness or Sensitivity” (link to the relevant website https://www.consumer.org.hk/en/press-release/p-562-toner), the Hong Kong Perfumery Association makes the following statement and suggestion:

The Consumer Council selects beauty products on the market for testing from time to time in order to protect the interests of consumers. It is out of goodwill and reminds beauty products and manufacturers to be vigilant at all times, and should not use excessive or unsafe raw materials in the production process . At present, since there are no relevant departments and laws in Hong Kong to clearly define which fragrances are regulated or need to be marked for consumers to pay attention to. When the perfume industry adds fragrances to enhance the desirability of various daily chemical products (daily chemical products include skin toner, cleanser, etc.) hair lotion, shower gel, dishwashing liquid, etc.), they will voluntarily refer to Article 19 (1) of the European Cosmetics Regulation "Cosmetics Regulation" 1223/2009 for review and labeling, which require to lists 26 fragrance materials on the labels when these fragrance materials are used when the content exceeds 0.001% (perfume and lipstick) or 0.01% (shampoo and shower gel, etc.). The "Cosmetics Regulation" 1223/2009 was reviewed from time to time since its introduction in 2009, 4 of the original 26 fragrance allergens were banned for use.

Generally speaking, the EU's "Cosmetics Regulation" 1223/2009 is used to protect the rights and interests of consumers to ensure that consumers with individual sensitivities. Consumers can know whether the fragrance content in those daily chemical products will cause their own allergies. For most consumers, if there is no allergic reaction to the fragrance, and the addition of the fragrance is within a controllable range, it will not cause every user to be allergic.

Therefore, the Hong Kong Perfumery Association believes that the Consumer Council should not use an eye-catching method to publicize the detection of allergenic fragrances in toners to the public. The preconceived titles make people think that the 9 toners have problems. In fact, the 9 toners have not violated EU regulations at all. On the contrary, these 9 toners strictly abide by the rules, and in accordance with the requirements of the European Union, the allergenic ingredients are displayed on the packaging, so that consumers can easily identify them.

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The Hong Kong Perfumery Association believes that if practitioners have voluntarily complied with EU regulations to label allergenic fragrances and do not use banned fragrance materials, the Consumer Council should encourage more relevant practitioners to follow suit. After all, there are no local departments and local laws to control the ever-changing industry development. Therefore, when the fragrance practitioners voluntarily disclose the ingredient information according to European Regulation, we should applaud for their good practice. On this matter, the Hong Kong Perfumery Association recommends Consumer Council on taking the following improvement measures:

• Industry practitioners and manufacturers who voluntarily comply with EU Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009 should not be suppressed by attacks

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• Explain to consumers how to judge whether they have symptoms of fragrance allergy, whether they can obtain a diagnosis or judgment from qualified medical personnel or professionals, and whether they will be exposed to allergenic fragrances or sensitivity to fragrances outside EU regulations.

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• Most consumers do not have enough knowledge to understand the content of the EU Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009. It is suggested that the Consumer Council organize educational lectures and conduct large-scale clinical trials in Hong Kong to test whether Hong Kong citizens understand the EU Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009 and have risks exposing to fragrances other than EU Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009.

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• The Consumer Council should not just hand over this report to the customs department for follow-up, because there is no local law and the report referred to European Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009, it is difficult for local law enforcement agencies to use European regulations to take actions in Hong Kong. The Consumer Council should cooperate with relevant law enforcement and regulatory agencies to formulate local laws and regulations applicable to Hong Kong to regulate the use of fragrance materials, and finally promote legislation to allow manufacturers to comply with Hong Kong's applicable regulations on the use of fragrance materials.

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Hong Kong Perfumery Association

President Chin Lap Kee

19-8-2023