Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to ban the use of (a) butylphenyl methylpropional (lilial) and (b) zinc pyrithione in the UK.

Under UK REACH – key legislation affecting chemicals in GB - companies must identify and manage the risks presented by the chemicals they manufacture or market in GB. These provisions apply to butylphenyl methylpropional (also known as lilial or lysmeral) and zinc pyrithione.

There are no plans to introduce further risk management measures under UK REACH for lysmeral or zinc pyrithione at this time. The Health & Safety Executive recently published initial assessments of substances, including lysmeral, that were added to the EU REACH Candidate List for authorisation in 2021. HSE proposed that no action be taken now on lysmeral because, as this substance is used as a fragrance, they assess it as unlikely to be used at high enough concentrations to pose a risk (see https://www.hse.gov.uk/reach/resources/svhc-assessment-summaries.pdf for further information). However, we will continue to keep lysmeral under review and consider if it is appropriate to prioritise for further action under UK REACH in the future.

To ensure that products placed on the GB market are safe, the Government keeps the regulatory framework under review, including the use of specific chemicals in particular cosmetic products. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has responsibility for the regulation of cosmetic products and intend to prohibit the use of lysmeral and zinc pyrithione in these products. To do this OPSS will be laying the necessary statutory instrument before Parliament in due course.