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About this allergen

Benzyl alcohol appears twice in the annexes because it does two jobs. As a preservative it is Annex V entry 34 at 1.0%; as anything else it is Annex III entry 45 with a declaration duty.

  • Annex V entry 34: 1.0% when used to preserve the product.
  • Annex III entry 45: for purposes other than inhibiting micro-organisms, with the declaration thresholds.
  • Which entry applies is settled by the purpose the product presents, not by concentration.
  • It occurs naturally in jasmine, ylang-ylang and several balsams, so it is often present without being added.

Benzyl alcohol is a solvent, a fragrance component and a preservative, and the regulation splits it by purpose rather than trying to cover all three in one entry. Used to keep a product from spoiling, it is a preservative and Annex V entry 34 applies with its 1.0% limit. Used as a solvent or as part of a fragrance, Annex III entry 45 applies, and that entry requires the non-preservative purpose to be apparent from how the product is presented.

The consequence is that two products with identical benzyl alcohol content can be answering different entries. It is the same mechanism as climbazole and salicylic acid, and it means the answer to "is this compliant" depends partly on what the pack says the product is for.

As a fragrance allergen it carries the usual declaration thresholds, and like limonene it is frequently present without having been added as such — it occurs naturally in jasmine and ylang-ylang absolutes and in balsams such as Peru balsam.

Checked against

EU AllergenCAS 100-51-6

BENZYL ALCOHOL — EU Regulated Fragrance Allergen

Phenylmethanol

BENZYL ALCOHOL is included in this site's EU fragrance-allergen reference set. The general declaration threshold is above 0.001% in leave-on products or above 0.01% in rinse-off products, but any linked Annex II or III conditions also apply.

This page links BENZYL ALCOHOL to 2 annex records in the EU cosmetics dataset. Declared on the label when present above 0.001% in leave-on products or 0.01% in rinse-off products under EU Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009 Annex III.

Leave-on products
> 0.001%
Label declaration required
Rinse-off products
> 0.01%
Label declaration required
Check your formula for this allergen All allergens View annex entries for this CAS

Regulatory status

INCI name

BENZYL ALCOHOL

CAS number

100-51-6

Synonyms

Phenylmethanol

Declaration requirement

Must be declared on the cosmetic product label when present above 0.001% in leave-on products or above 0.01% in rinse-off products.

Legal basis

EU Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009, Annex III

Additional chemical sources

Search the same identity in independent official chemistry and hazard databases. These sources provide context and do not replace the EU labelling rule above.

ECHA CHEM

EU substance information and CLP classification where available.

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US EPA CompTox

EPA chemistry, exposure and toxicity data search.

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Annex records for BENZYL ALCOHOL

Why BENZYL ALCOHOL matters for EU labelling

BENZYL ALCOHOL has a dedicated fragrance-labelling reference page and currently links to 2 annex records. Regulation (EU) 2023/1545 also added 56 allergens and updated existing entries, so current Annex III evidence remains authoritative.

Declared on the label when present above 0.001% in leave-on products or 0.01% in rinse-off products under EU Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009 Annex III.

Allergen declaration is a labelling obligation, not an automatic ban. If additional Annex II or Annex III conditions apply through the linked records above, those conditions must be checked separately from the label declaration thresholds.

Frequently asked questions

BENZYL ALCOHOL is included in the fragrance-allergen labelling reference. A labelling rule does not by itself establish that an ingredient is permitted: an Annex II prohibition or additional Annex III restriction may also apply. Check every linked current annex record above.

Declaration of BENZYL ALCOHOL is mandatory when the concentration exceeds 0.001% (10 ppm) in leave-on cosmetic products or 0.01% (100 ppm) in rinse-off products. Below these thresholds, label declaration is not required but may be made voluntarily.

The concentration threshold applies to the allergen in the finished product. When the allergen is contributed by a fragrance blend, the allergen content of the blend (provided by the fragrance supplier) must be multiplied by the percentage of blend used in the formula. If the calculated total allergen concentration exceeds the threshold, it must be declared on the label.

Use the INCI Checker to paste your ingredient list. It checks dedicated allergen references including BENZYL ALCOHOL and scans all Annex II–VI entries, including the expanded Annex III records introduced or updated under Regulation (EU) 2023/1545.
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CAS 100-51-6 identifies BENZYL ALCOHOL in the EU regulatory databases. The annex records linked above show all Annex II–VI entries that share this CAS number, including any additional restriction or prohibition conditions beyond the allergen labelling requirement.

Source note for BENZYL ALCOHOL

This page combines the EU allergen-labelling rule for BENZYL ALCOHOL with 2 linked Annex II–VI records drawn from the current local dataset.

Use this page to review labelling logic for BENZYL ALCOHOL, but verify any final compliance decision against the current official allergen rules, annex text and source files.

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Tools & next steps

Check your formula

Scan a full INCI list for BENZYL ALCOHOL, the other EU allergens and any linked annex restrictions.

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Allergen references

Browse the site's dedicated allergen references and continue to the complete current Annex III records from BENZYL ALCOHOL.

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Calculate the threshold

Calculate the finished-product level of BENZYL ALCOHOL contributed by a fragrance or raw-material blend.

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Annex entries by CAS

View all EU annex records sharing CAS 100-51-6.

View CAS records