KOJIC ACID
Official label name (INCI name, EU glossary of cosmetic ingredient names), No 14224
- Allowed with restrictions (Annex III)
KOJIC ACID: Allowed with restrictions, maximum 1% in the ready-for-use preparation, only in: Face and hand products (Annex III, entry 375), under Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009.
In plain words
What it is used for
Functions declared by manufacturers:
Antioxidant: inhibits reactions promoted by oxygen, thus avoiding oxidation and rancidity.
Bleaching: lightens the shade of hair or skin.
What the rules say
Allowed, with restrictions: Annex III sets a maximum concentration and the product types allowed. Ingredient lists do not give quantities, so the concentration cannot be checked on the label.
The text of the annexes
Allowed with restrictions
- Entry
- Annex III, No 375
- Substance
- 5-Hydroxy-2-(hydroxymethyl)-4H-pyrane-4-one
- Glossary names
- Kojic Acid
- CAS
- 501-30-4
- EC
- 207-922-4
- Product type
- Face and hand products
- Maximum concentration
- 1 %
- Other conditions
- From 1 February 2025 cosmetic products containing that substance and not complying with the conditions shall not be placed on the Union market. From 1 November 2025 cosmetic products containing that substance and not complying with the conditions shall not be made available on the Union market.
Dates in the act (11)
- Entry into force on 24 April 2024
- Placing on the market until 31 December 2024
Cosmetic products containing that substance that do not comply with the conditions may, provided that they comply with the conditions applicable on 23 April 2024, be placed on the Union market until 31 December 2024 and, if they have already been placed on the market before that date, continue to be made available on the Union market until 31 October 2025.
- Placing on the market from 1 February 2025
From 1 February 2025 cosmetic products containing that substance and not complying with the conditions shall not be placed on the Union market
- Application from 1 May 2025
Point (4) of the Annex shall apply from 1 May 2025.
- Entry into force on 1 May 2025
- Placing on the market from 1 May 2025
From 1 May 2025 products containing that substance shall not be placed on the Union market
- Making available until 31 October 2025
not comply with the conditions may, provided that they comply with the conditions applicable on 23 April 2024, be placed on the Union market until 31 December 2024 and, if they have already been placed on the market before that date, continue to be made available on the Union market until 31 October 2025.
- Making available from 1 November 2025
From 1 November 2025 cosmetic products containing that substance and not complying with the conditions shall not be made available on the Union market
- Placing on the market from 1 November 2025
From 1 November 2025 cosmetic products containing that substance and not complying with the conditions shall not be placed on the Union market
- Making available from 1 May 2026
From 1 May 2026 cosmetic products containing that substance shall not be made available on the Union market’
- Making available from 1 May 2027
From 1 May 2027 cosmetic products containing that substance and not complying with the conditions shall not be made available on the Union market
Excerpts from the English text published in the Official Journal. A date may concern only some substances of the act: the excerpt says so.
Identity
- CosIng identifier
- 34801
- CAS (according to CosIng)
- 501-30-4
- EC (according to CosIng)
- 207-922-4
- Declared functions
- Antioxidant, Bleaching
- Wikidata
- Q416285
- PubChem
- 3840
- ECHA InfoCard
- 100.007.203
- InChIKey
- BEJNERDRQOWKJM-UHFFFAOYSA-N
EU product alerts (Safety Gate)
20 alerts on cosmetic products cite this name in their hazard description. An alert targets a specific product, not the ingredient itself; each alert states the reason (prohibited substance, limit exceeded, missing labelling, and so on).
- 11 September 2026: Skin-lightening product, Caro White, Germany (“Serious risk”) alert
- 12 June 2026: Lightening body oil, Mama Africa Cosmetics, Germany (“Serious risk”) alert
- 22 May 2026: Skin lightening lotion, Mama Africa, Germany (“Serious risk”) alert
- 20 December 2024: Skin lightening body lotion, Mama Africa Cosmetics, Germany (“Serious risk”) alert
- 5 April 2024: Skin-lightening lotion, Dream Cosmetics, Germany (“Serious risk”) alert
- 24 November 2023: Skin lightening product, Clair-Liss Génial, Germany (“Serious risk”) alert
- 27 November 2020: Skin-lightening product, Bio Claire, Germany (“Serious risk”) alert
- 27 November 2020: Skin-lightening product, Pure Skin, Germany (“Serious risk”) alert
- 27 November 2020: Skin-lightening product, Cocoderm, Germany (“Serious risk”) alert
- 10 July 2020: Skin lightening product, Bronz Tone, Gandour, Germany (“Serious risk”) alert
Elsewhere in the world
Information on other jurisdictions. What is covered, and what is not yet.
United Kingdom (Great Britain)
- Allowed with restrictions (Annex III)
Same entries as in the European Union. Conditions (concentrations, warnings) may differ: they are not compared here.
Switzerland
Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 applies in Switzerland (Article 54 of the Ordinance on Foodstuffs and Utility Articles).
United States, federal rules
None of the integrated sections of the federal code (21 CFR 700.11 to 700.27 and 250.250) targets this name. The FDA does not publish a list of allowed ingredients.
Recorded cosmetics that contain it
3 recorded products list it, according to Open Beauty Facts contributors. Records are dated: the formula may have changed. See the list (page in French).
Glossary: Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/1175. Page updated on 21 October 2026.