I have mentioned the CosIng database in an earlier post about INCI names The Essential Guide to INCI Names but I decided to do a deeper dive into this invaluable resource.

CosIng was started in 1976 and it is still updated when there is a Commission Regulation amending EC1223/2009.  The latest amendment was 15 March 2024.

CosIng is an online tool of the European Commission (EC) and provides the following details about each ingredient (if this information is available):

• Official INCI name
• A short description (I have found this to be the least accurate of the entries, but it can give an idea of what the actual ingredient is, which may not be obvious purely from the INCI name)
• CAS number, EC number (numerical identifiers)
• Whether it is present in any of the Annexes (and the numbered reference to the entry in the Annex)
• Identified function(s)
• Links and references to any official opinions

Unfortunately there isn’t a direct link from the CosIng ingredient information page to the Annex entry. To get to the entry of that ingredient in the relevant Annex, make a note of the number listed.  It will be in the form III/102 – which denotes the Annex number (in Roman numerals) followed by the entry number.

The Regulation 1223/2009 has 5 ingredient Annexes:

II             Banned ingredients

III            Restricted ingredients

IV            List of colourants permitted

V             List of preservatives permitted

VI            List of UV filters permitted

Annexes IV, V and VI are ‘positive lists’ – only those ingredients which are listed can be used for that purpose.

Annex III is a form of positive list too – this Annex lists the limits of how a product can be used; if a usage is not listed for the ingredient then it cannot be used in that way.

To find the Annexes, from the CosIng database homepage, choose the menu icon, and the Annexes can be found under ‘Reference data’.

The Annex lists can now be downloaded as pdf, xls or csv files which is very useful to be able to use the search function on your computer.

Disclaimer: Information about ingredients listed in CosIng does not have legal value – only the details specified in the actual legislation EC1223/2009 is binding; However CosIng is searchable and more user-friendly than trying to find the information in the legal documents, and after many years of usage I have rarely found any significant errors, apart from the description can sometimes be non-specific.

Link to the database: CosIng database