The CIR gathers data on personal care ingredients and reviews their safety, publishing results in peer-reviewed journals.
The Expert Panel is the part of the CIR that decides upon the safety of ingredients after a process of review and assessment. It is made up of nine experts in dermatology, toxicology, pathology and chemistry.
New members
Joining the panel is Ronald Hill, Associate Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Louisiana, and Daniel Liebler, Professor of Biochemistry, Pharmacology and Biomedical Informatics at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
Liebler is also the Director of the Jim Ayers Institute for Precancer Detection and Diagnosis, which was established in 2005 to identify new markers for early detection of colorectal cancer and to guide therapy of established cancer.
“With their extensive expertise in chemistry, both Dr. Hill and Dr. Liebler will undoubtedly prove invaluable additions to an already experienced team of diverse CIR panelists,” said Panel Chair Wilma F. Bergfeld.
Organisation and function
The members of the CIR panel are drawn from academia and are independent, having no financial involvement in the cosmetics industry.
There are also three liaison members representing government, industry and consumers, who advise members but do not have the right to vote on the safety of ingredients.
By the end of the year, the panel estimates to have completed the review of more than 1,500 personal care products ingredients, representing a majority of ingredients used to formulate cosmetics today.
Each year, the CIR evaluates new and existing ingredients, starting with the most important and common ones.