ZMUni Compliance Centre

On February 6, 2025, China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) issued Several Provisions on Supporting Cosmetic Ingredient Innovation, aiming to further encourage innovation in cosmetic ingredients and promote the high-quality development of the cosmetics industry. This regulation took effect immediately upon release. On the same day, the NMPA released a policy interpretation on Several Provisions on Supporting Cosmetic Ingredient Innovation.

In November 2023, the NMPA issued a similar announcement supporting innovation and standardized management of new cosmetic ingredients. Compared to the 2023 version, this time the document adds the following key points:

1. For new ingredients used for the first time both domestically and internationally, optimize the safety evaluation requirements for new ingredients based on the actual level of risk. On the basis of conducting scientific safety assessments by companies, reduce or waive certain requirements related to toxicology and long-term human testing for safety.

2. For new ingredients with a sufficiently established history of safe use, clarify the standards for research and determination of safety and consumption history. Strengthen the utilization of existing data and simplify the relevant safety evaluation requirements.

3. For new ingredients that are improvements or innovations of already used ingredients, thoroughly consider the history of safe use and develop corresponding technical requirements.

4. Clarify the pathway for changes to already market-listed New Cosmetic Ingredients (NCI) and develop technical guidance for change research.

5. Encourage the simultaneous submission of special cosmetics registration when registering NCI, and allow special cosmetics registration submission at the same time as notifying NCI.

6. Provide early intervention and full guidance for NCI to be first used in China, integrating modern science and technology with traditional advantages and unique plant resources. Establish a dedicated review pathway for these NCI and special cosmetics, accelerating their review and market entry.

7. Accelerate the development of technical guidance for naming NCI and other research, and promptly release answers to common technical questions.

8. Establish a dynamic adjustment mechanism for the list of used ingredients.

9. Develop technical guidelines for cosmetic ingredient usage. Build technical requirements for categories like biotechnology and plant resources, and create general technical requirements for cosmetic ingredients.

10. Advance research on alternative methods to animal testing, accelerating their application in NCI safety assessments.

As of now, since the implementation of the "CSAR" in 2021, a total of 219 new cosmetic ingredients have been filed for record, and 1 new ingredient has been registered. The trend in filing and registering new ingredients has been consistently positive year after year. If you require assistance with compliance for exporting new cosmetic ingredients to China, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.