Opinion of the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) – Final version of the opinion on Phenoxyethanol in cosmetic products

The SCCS considers 2-phenoxyethanol safe for use as a preservative with a maximum concentration of 1.0%, taking into account the information provided. The toxicokinetics default factor of 4.0 can be reduced to 1.0 yielding a minimum Margin of Safety (MoS) of 25 instead of 100 for the safety assessment of 2-phenoxyethanol. Therefore, the MoS of about 50 for children also covers this specific age group who might be higher exposed to 2-phenoxyethanol than adults. This Opinion does not take into account exposure from sources other than cosmetics. •The SCCS considers 2-phenoxyethanol safe for use as a preservative with a maximum concentration of 1.0%.•The Margin of Safety (MoS) of about 50 for children also covers this specific age group.•This Opinion does not take into account exposure from sources other than cosmetics.