Cosmeto Pack launches web tool that calculates cosmetic plastic packaging health risks

05 Mar 2024 --- Cosmeto Pack introduces SafePAC, a web application for assessing the risk of potentially irritating compounds migrating from plastic packaging materials into cosmetics.

With its solution, Cosmeto Pack offers a “specific, simple and economical” protocol to evaluate and model interaction between plastic compounds and products, which are deemed a “major challenge” for brands and consumers seeking transparency.

The solution is broadly designed for all actors in the cosmetics industry, encompassing manufacturers of raw materials, packaging, cosmetic ingredients and formulas, as well as packagers, laboratories and toxicologists.

The web application combines an application programming interface (API) — software for predicting the physico-chemical and toxicological properties of substances — with four databases: “Description and composition of packaging,” “Regulatory data on substances,” “Intrinsic properties of substances” and “Data on exposure to cosmetic products.”

Historic challenges of standardizing safety
SafePAC addresses quality and safety standards on the European market for cosmetics. In the EU, legislation requires manufacturers to take responsibility for the materials used in their packaging, particularly those “most at risk.”

“Until now, food standards (Regulation 10/2011) were the reference, but they were not relevant — cosmetic formulas are complex, and exposure and storage times are longer,” Cosmeto Pack highlights.

“Added to this are recycled materials. This observation led to the creation of Cosmeto Pack, to create a tool for measuring the risks associated with container content migration specific to the cosmetics industry.”

SafePAC uses a standard protocol, cross-referenced through over 2,000 tests, to compare skin exposure and cosmetic product exposure against a substance-specific toxicological reference threshold.

Cosmeto Pack has established two distinct thresholds, one for plastics manufacturers and one for cosmeticians. These thresholds help users determine “acceptable risk.”

Skin irritation and allergy sensitization are assessed qualitatively in the first step of SafePAC. Exposure to the substance must be below the defined threshold.

“The Beta version of the web application (Kreatis) is currently being tested and debugged by Cosmeto Pack partners. The consortium seeks new partners to co-fund tests that will contribute new data to SafePAC,” highlights Cosmeto Pack.

SafePAC interface (Image credit: CosmetoPack).Users can expect a balance between shared and confidential data, with SafePAC capable of storing user-specific or organizational data and facilitating the creation of "private" groups for project collaboration.

Assessing toxicological thresholds
In a recent analysis toward developing its SafePAC database, Cosmeto Pack studied the migration risk of two materials, HDPE and PET.

Researchers of the study examined how five dopants interacted with eight different liquids over time, generating over 2,200 data points and 40 visualizations of these interactions. 

The liquid simulants included ethanol/water (50%), ethanol 96°, isooctane, alkyl benzoate, dimethicone, shower gel (24% TA), O/W emulsion and O/W emulsion.

Balancing the needs of packaging manufacturers and cosmeticians, who prioritize material safety and consumer cosmetic safety respectively, required defining acceptable toxicological thresholds for each substance at systemic and local levels.

The analyses revealed some simulants are “significantly more extractable” than others, such as isooctane compared to shower gel.

SafePAC’s software predicts physicochemical and toxicological properties of the cosmetic packaging material and its content. Through its online web portal, users can submit personalized profiles indicating information about a specific cosmetic container (material and volume) and content (formula composition) information, which will calculate a health risk assessment.

By Benjamin Ferrer