July 27, 2015
German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) has concluded the safety of mineral oils for cosmetics after its assesment on dermal absorption of mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) and mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH).
The institute has noted the lack of representative data on MOSH and MOAH content in cosmetic products so it has considered random spot checks on several cosmetic products, measuring MOAH levels of up to 5%.
BfR has stated that consumer health risks through the uptake of the mineral oils in cosmetics through the skin are not to be expected based on all available scientific evidence. It has cited that there has been no reported incident of health effect related to mineral oil, which has been used over the years.
It has acknowledged the need for more available data so that final risk assessment of the absorption of mineral oil through the skin can be done.