Sucrose

What Is It?

Sucrose, or table sugar, is a disaccharide commonly found in food. In cosmetics and personal care products, Sucrose is used in the formulation of many types of products including bath products, soaps and detergents, body and hand preparations, cleansing products, depilatories, eye makeup, foundations, hair care products, oral hygiene products and suntan products.

Why Is It Used?

Sucrose functions as a flavoring agentIngredients that impart a flavor or a taste to a product. and as a humectantIngredients that slow the loss of moisture from a product during use..

Scientific Facts

Sucrose is obtained by crystallization from sugar cane or sugar beet juiceThe liquid obtained by expressing various plants or plant parts, usually fruits. that has been extracted by pressing or diffusion, then clarified and evaporated.

Safety Information

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) includes Sucrose on its list of substances affirmed as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS“GRAS” is an acronym for the phrase Generally Recognized As Safe. Under sections 201(s) and 409 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act), any substance that is intentionally added to food is a food additive, that is subject to premarket review and approval by FDA, unless the substance is generally recognized, among qualified experts, as having been adequately shown to be safe under the conditions of its intended use, or unless the use of the substance is otherwise excluded from the definition of a food additive.) for direct addition to food. When included in food, the FDA requires that Sucrose be listed on the label as sugar.

FDA: Link to Code of Federal Regulations for Sucrose

Sucrose may be used in cosmetics and personal care products marketed in Europe according to the general provisions of the Cosmetics Regulation of the European UnionUnder the general provisions of the cosmetics regulation of the EU, ingredients appearing on the following function-specific annexes must comply with the listed restrictions and/or specifications: colorants (Annex IV), preservatives (Annex V), UV filters (Annex VI) and other ingredients with specific concentration limits and/or other restrictions (Annex III). Ingredients specifically prohibited from use in cosmetic products are listed in Annex II. Other ingredients listed in the EU cosmetic ingredient database (CosIng) may be used without restrictions..

Link to the EU Cosmetic Regulation:
http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/consumers/product_labelling_and_p…

Resources

Find out more about the regulation of Food Additives by the Food and Drug Administration

Food Ingredients and Packaging: http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/default.htm

Food Contact Substances: http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/PackagingFCS/defaul…

Substances Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS): http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/GRAS/default.htm

Search the Code of Federal Regulations http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm

EU Cosmetics Inventory http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cosmetics/cosing/