PHENYL MERCURIC BROMIDE
Official label name (INCIInternational name of cosmetic ingredients: the one printed on the pack. name, EU glossary of cosmetic ingredient names), No 20722
- Cited as an example in a rule, no rule of its own (Annex V)
PHENYL MERCURIC BROMIDE: Cited as an example in a rule, no rule of its own (Annex V, entry 17), under Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009. Annexes of the Regulation consulted on 23 October 2026.
Who it concerns
What official classifications and rules say for each group. A classification describes the hazard of the pure substance, not the risk of a product that contains it, which depends on the dose and the exposure.
Prohibition or serious classificationThe text prohibits the substance for this use, or ranks it among the most serious hazards (known or presumed carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic, identified endocrine disruptor).Worth watchingThe text sets a condition or flags a hazard worth knowing: allergen, suspected effect, condition for children, hazard to the aquatic environment.For informationOfficial information with no condition on a finished product: warning to read, irritation of the pure substance.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding
No classification harmonised by the European Union covers reproduction, the unborn child or breastfeeding for this substance. This does not mean it has been judged to have no effect during pregnancy.
Babies and children
The Cosmetics Regulation sets no age-related condition for this ingredient.
Skin, eyes and allergies
No harmonised classification for sensitisation, irritation or eye damage, and no obligation to label it as an allergen.
Environment
No harmonised classification as hazardous to the aquatic environment, and it is not on ECHAEuropean Chemicals Agency.'s Candidate List as an endocrine disruptor for the environment.
Read on the label
The Cosmetics Regulation requires no warning to be printed for this ingredient.
In plain words
What it is used for
Functions declared by manufacturers:
Preservative: inhibits primarily the development of micro-organisms in cosmetics.
Functions declared in the CosIngThe European Commission's database of cosmetic ingredients. inventory. CosIng, inventory of cosmetic ingredients (INCI names, CAS, EC, functions), retrieved 21 October 2026.
Definitions of functions (decision repealed on 8 May 2020, cited for information). Decision 2006/257/EC, inventory of cosmetic ingredients (definitions of functions), retrieved 22 October 2026.
What the rules say
This name is only cited as an example in an entry of Annex V, which covers a family of substances: the exact conditions depend on the form used.
CosIng, Annex V of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 (allowed preservatives), retrieved 23 October 2026, source updated 13 October 2026.
The text of the annexes
Preservative allowed under conditions
CosIng cites the name PHENYL MERCURIC BROMIDE in this entry, whose regulated name is “PHENYL MERCURIC ACETATE / PHENYL MERCURIC BENZOATE”: the title below says which form or use it covers.
- Product type
- Eye products
- Maximum concentration
- 0.007% (of Hg) If mixed with other mercurial compounds authorized by this Directive, the maximum concentration of Hg remains fixed at 0.007%
- Warning to print
- Contains Phenylmercuric compounds
- Entry
- Annex V, No 17
- Substance
- Phenylmercuric salts (including borate)
- Glossary names
- PHENYL MERCURIC ACETATE / PHENYL MERCURIC BENZOATE
- CAS
- 62-38-4 / 94-43-9
- EC
- 200-532-5 / 202-331-8
Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, Annex V, entry 17. CosIng, Annex V of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 (allowed preservatives), retrieved 23 October 2026, source updated 13 October 2026.
Entry from Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, adopted on 30 November 2009.
What has changed, and what will change
Dates of the texts that cover this ingredient. A text date may cover several substances: the details of each entry are below.
Washington State: Prohibited
Identity
- CosIng identifier
- 59212
- CAS (according to CosIng)
- 1192-89-8
- EC (according to CosIng)
- 214-760-8
- Declared functions
- Preservative
- Wikidata
- Q27281050
- PubChem
- 14509
- ECHA InfoCard
- 100.013.419
- InChIKey
- PUPHNPSAIJQNEE-UHFFFAOYSA-M
CosIng inventory. CosIng, inventory of cosmetic ingredients (INCI names, CAS, EC, functions), retrieved 21 October 2026.
Wikidata, items with a CosIng identifier (P3073), retrieved 22 October 2026.
Wikidata, PubChem and ECHA links are published only when verified: same CosIng identifier, a single item, matching CAS number.
Elsewhere in the world
Information on other jurisdictions, with no effect on sale in France. What is covered, and what is not yet.
Comparison between countries
Most restrictive status in each country, and the maximum concentration cited. The details and the source of each rule follow.
| Country | Rule | Maximum concentration cited |
|---|---|---|
| European Union | Cited as an example in a rule, no rule of its own | not cited |
| United Kingdom | Cited as an example in a rule, no rule of its own | not cited |
| Switzerland | EU Regulation applies | not cited |
| United States (federal) | Restricted differs from the EU | not cited |
| Washington State | Prohibited differs from the EU | not cited |
| Japan | No entry in the lists recorded | not cited |
| South Korea | No entry in the lists recorded | not cited |
| China | Not on the prohibited lists recorded (lists of allowed substances are not recorded) | not cited |
| Australia | No entry in the lists recorded | not cited |
| Brazil | No entry in the lists recorded | not cited |
United Kingdom (Great Britain)
- Cited as an example in a rule, no rule of its own (Annex V)
Same entries as in the European Union. Their maximum concentrations are compared in the “Comparison between countries” table; other conditions (product types, warnings) may differ.
Annexes II to VI in force. United Kingdom, Annexes II to VI of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 as retained and amended, retrieved 21 October 2026.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Northern Ireland applies EU law.
Switzerland
Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 applies in Switzerland (Article 54 of the Ordinance on Foodstuffs and Utility Articles).
Switzerland, FDHA Ordinance on Cosmetic Products (OCos, SR 817.023.31), consolidated version, retrieved 22 October 2026.
United States, federal rules
- Restricted: Use of mercury compounds in cosmetics including use as skinbleaching agents in cosmetic preparations also regarded as drugs
21 CFR 700.13. (a) Mercury-containing cosmetic preparations have been represented for many years as skin-bleaching agents or as preparations to remove or prevent freckles and/or brown spots (so-called age spots). Preparations intended for such use are regarded as drugs as well as cosmetics. In addition to such use as skin-bleaching agents, mercury compounds have also been widely used as preservatives in cosmetics such as hand and body creams and lotions; hair shampoos, hair sets and rinses, hair straighteners, hair coloring, and other preparations; bath oils, bubble bath, and other bath preparations; makeup; antiperspirants and deodorants; and eye-area cosmetics. (b) The toxicity of mercury compounds is extensively documented in scientific literature. It is well known that mercury compounds are readily absorbed through the unbroken skin as well as through the lungs by inhalation and by intestinal absor…
United States, 21 CFR part 700 and section 250.250 (FDA rules on cosmetic ingredients), eCFR, retrieved 21 October 2026.
The eCFR is not an official legal edition of the Code of Federal Regulations.
Washington State (United States)
- Prohibited: Mercury and mercury compounds (CAS 7439-97-6)
RCW 70A.560.020 (1)(e), from 1 January 2025. Prohibited when intentionally added to a cosmetic product.
Washington State, Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act: RCW 70A.560.020 and WAC 173-339, retrieved 22 October 2026.
Glossary: Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/1175. Page updated on 23 October 2026.