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Nov 25, 2025 - Cosmetics
Safety assessment of cannabidiol (CBD) in cosmetic products: SCCS releases preliminary opinion
Cannabidiol (CBD), a major cannabinoid component of the cannabis plant with a proportion of around 40 percent in the plant extract, is increasingly used as a skincare ingredient in cosmetic products. The European Cosmetics Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009 does not yet contain specific regulation on CBD; however, Annex II, No. 306, prohibits the use of natural or synthetic narcotics listed in Tables I and II of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.
The European Court of Justice established in 2020 that CBD is not to be considered a narcotic under this UN Convention. At the same time, the Court pointed out that concentration limits should be considered to protect public health.
Against this background, the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) published a preliminary opinion on CBD in cosmetic products (SCCS/1685/25). According to this, a CBD concentration of up to 0.19 percent in dermal and oral cosmetic products is considered safe. Additionally, the SCCS evaluates a THC contamination of up to 0.00025 percent (2.5 mg/kg) in such products as harmless. THC can occur as an undesirable impurity in the context of CBD extraction.
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