What’s That Smell? California Safe Cosmetics Program Wants to Know

Channeling Lynyrd Skynyrd’s 1977 classic song, “That Smell,” on January 1, 2022, California Senate Bill 312 (SB 312), now known as the Cosmetic Fragrance and Flavor Ingredient Right to Know Act of 2020 (“CFFIRKA”), went into effect.¹ CFFIRKA requires companies that sell cosmetic or personal care products that contain reportable fragrance and flavor ingredients included in CFFIRKA to report such information to the California Safe Cosmetics Program (“CSCP”), which is a part of the California Department of Public Health, Division of Environmental and Occupational Disease Control.

Highlights of the New Law

• The reportable fragrance and flavor definitions focus on the ingredient’s “intended purpose.”
  • A fragrance ingredient is any intentionally added substance or complex mixture of aroma chemicals, natural essential oils, and other functional ingredient or ingredients for which the purpose is to impart an odor or scent, or to counteract an odor.
  • A flavor ingredient is any intentionally added substance or complex mixture of aroma chemicals, flavor chemicals, natural essential oils, and other functional ingredient or ingredients for which the purpose is to impart a flavor or taste, or to counteract a flavor or taste.²
• CSCP will identify whether an ingredient is a fragrance ingredient or a flavor ingredient.³ All ingredients appearing on the Reportable Ingredients List must be reported to CSCP, regardless of concentration in the product. This reporting requirement applies to all products with reportable ingredients sold in California after January 1, 2022, regardless of the date of manufacture. When one of the 23 designated lists that comprise the reportable ingredients lists is updated, companies must disclose the ingredient no later than six months from the revised list’s date of adoption or effective date, whichever is later.⁴
• A fragrance ingredient or flavor ingredient that constitutes a trade secret is not subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act. Note: to protect trade secrets, the law does not require companies to report any of the following:
  • ingredients not included in the designated lists;
  • the weight or amount of an ingredient; or
  • how a product is formulated.⁵
• A subset of CFFIRKA reportable ingredients, called “fragrance allergens,” has different reporting requirements than the fragrance or flavor ingredients above. Fragrance allergens, unlike other fragrance ingredients, must be reported to CSCP, regardless of their intended purpose in the product (i.e., they must be reported even if they are not used to impart scent or counteract odor). In addition, companies only need to report fragrance allergens if they are present in a rinse-off cosmetic product at a concentration at or above 0.01%(100 parts per million) or in a leave-on cosmetic product at a concentration at or above 0.001% (10 parts per million).⁶ Fragrance allergen ingredients are clearly distinguished in the CSCP Reportable Ingredients List. A review of the CSCP Product Database shows commonly reported fragrance allergens including:
  • cinnamal;
  • hydroxycitronellal; and
  • limonene.

The CSCP Product Database is available for public viewing and shows 712 companies reporting more than 90,000 products.⁷

How to Report

Cosmetics companies should report electronically, using the California Safe Cosmetics Reporting Portal.⁸

1. Create an account for the California Safe Cosmetics Reporting Portal.⁹
2. Companies may find it helpful to compile the following information before logging in to the California Safe Cosmetics Reporting Portal to report products:
   • Company name
   • Brand name
   • Product name, exactly as it appears on product label or package
   • Variation name (e.g., the color, scent, flavor, or SPF)
   • Company’s internal product ID (optional)
   • Universal Product Codes (“UPC”) — this is the 12-digit barcode number
   • Product’s website address
   • Product marketing photo — any photo showing the product in its entirety along with its brand name, product name, and any applicable variant name. Acceptable file types include .png, .jpg, .jpeg, and .webp.
   • Product’s intended market (e.g., professional use only, general consumers, children)
   • Product’s intended application area (e.g., face, hands)
   • Product’s physical form (e.g., cream, powder, spray)
   • List of the product’s manufacturers
   • Product formulation information from manufacturer(s) and supplier(s) needed to identify all reportable ingredients
3. Companies have six months to comply from the date of adoption or effective date, where the reportable ingredients list includes an ingredients in the company’s product. Therefore, reportable ingredients currently listed must be reported by July 1, 2023.

Frequently Asked Questions¹⁰

• Who is required to report under CFFIRKA?
  • Companies are required to report products to CSCP if they sell cosmetic and personal care products in California that contain fragrance or flavor ingredients, or both, included on one or more of the 23 designated lists in Health and Safety Code Section 111792.6.
  • The company whose name appears on the product label (pursuant to FDA’s cosmetic label requirements) is responsible for reporting products to CSCP, and for obtaining ingredient information from manufacturers and suppliers necessary to make the report. Consultants may report on behalf of the responsible company, but CSCP will first verify that consultants are legitimately affiliated with the company.
• When is the deadline for companies to comply with CFFIRKA?
  • Companies are expected to start the process of reporting by January 1, 2022. The Reporting Portal is now ready for CFFIRKA reporting. As noted, companies have six months to comply from January 1, 2022.
• Does CFFIRKA require companies to make changes to product labels?
  • There is no requirement under CFFIRKA to make changes to product labels.
• CFFIRKA requires companies to report the UPC for each Do companies have to report multiple UPCs associated with a larger kit or collection that has its own UPC?
  • All UPCs associated with a product containing reportable ingredients must be reported, regardless of how it is packaged. If a product containing a reportable ingredient is part of a larger kit or collection, the company must report the kit’s UPC and the UPC of any product that is also sold separately and contains the reportable ingredient.
• CSCP will answer questions and provide clarification regarding reporting requirements via email at SafeCosmetics@cdph.ca.gov.

AGG Observations

• The company whose name appears on the product label must obtain the information necessary to report from all suppliers in the distribution chain.
• Neither the CSCP website nor CFFIRKA identifies any penalties for noncompliance.
• Companies selling products in California should review their products and ingredients to ensure compliance with the new law.
• Remember: the law went into effect on January 1, 2022, and the deadline for reporting compliance is in June.

[1] CFFIRKA can be found in California’s Health and Safety Code Section 111792.6, viewable at https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=HSC&division=104.&title=&part=5.&chapter=7.&article=3.5. (last accessed March 16, 2022).

[2] Cal. Health & Safety Code § 111792.6.

[3] Id.

[4] The CSCP Reportable Ingredients List is available at https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/OHB/CSCP/Pages/SB312.aspx (last accessed March 10, 2022).

[5] Cal. Health & Safety Code § 111792.6(6)(b)(2)(A).

[6] Cal. Health & Safety Code § 111792.6(6)(b)(1)(B).

[7] California Safe Cosmetics Program Product Database available at https://cscpsearch.cdph.ca.gov/search/publicsearch (last accessed March 10, 2022).

[8] California Safe Cosmetics Reporting Portal available at https://cscpsubmit.cdph.ca.gov/submission/login. Instructions detailing the submission process are available at https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/OHB/CSCP/Pages/Cosmetics-Companies.aspx (last accessed March 16, 2022).

[9] Instructions available at https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/OHB/CSCP/Pages/CreateAccount.aspx (last accessed March 16, 2022).

[10] Frequently Asked Questions about CFFIRKA, available at https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/OHB/CSCP/Pages/SB312.aspx (last accessed March 16, 2022).