ICCS Best Practice Guidance - Serious Eye Damage and Eye Irritation Assessment Using New Approach Methodologies for Substances in Cosmetics and Personal Care Products
INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION ON COSMETICS SAFETY
ICCS Best Practice Guidance Document - Serious Eye Damage and Eye Irritation Assessment Using New Approach Methodologies for Substances in Cosmetics and Personal Care Products
ICCS’ Best Practice Guidance (BPG) provides a practical framework for assessing serious eye damage and eye irritation potential using New Approach Methodologies (NAMs). Developed to support safety assessors in transitioning from traditional animal testing approaches, the guidance promotes scientifically robust, transparent, and consistent approaches to hazard identification and safety assessment for substances used in cosmetics and personal care products.
The guidance introduces a structured, six-step workflow that takes assessors through problem formulation, substance characterization, exposure considerations, evaluation of existing data, targeted testing, and data evaluation. It emphasizes the importance of characterizing uncertainty, documenting decisions, and integrating available evidence to support scientifically informed conclusions. The document also explores OECD-adopted NAMs, integrated approaches to testing and assessment (IATAs), defined approaches (DAs), and the use of additional methods within a weight-of-evidence framework.
Designed for safety assessors seeking to expand their use of NAMs, this BPG offers a practical resource for applying Next Generation Risk Assessment (NGRA) principles to eye safety assessments without reliance on animal testing or animal data. By providing a clear, stepwise approach, the guidance aims to build confidence in animal-free methods and support their broader use and acceptance in cosmetic ingredient safety assessment.
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We are very excited about our series of Best Practice Guidance documents for use by the global safety assessment community for substances in cosmetics and personal care products.
Please provide feedback on what you think about this BPG document and its applicability to your safety assessment activities.
