Scope
The notice applies to cosmetic products under Korea’s MFDS cosmetics safety framework. The transcribed provisions are the detection allowances for metals unintentionally derived and technically impossible to remove completely.
Exact limit and units
| Metal | Matrix | Limit | Unit | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | Powder products using clay as a raw material | 50 | microgram/g | cosmetic product |
| Lead | Other cosmetic products | 20 | microgram/g | cosmetic product |
| Nickel | Eye makeup products | 35 | microgram/g | cosmetic product |
| Nickel | Color makeup products | 30 | microgram/g | cosmetic product |
| Nickel | Other cosmetic products | 10 | microgram/g | cosmetic product |
| Arsenic | Cosmetic products | 10 | microgram/g | cosmetic product |
| Mercury | Cosmetic products | 1 | microgram/g | cosmetic product |
| Antimony | Cosmetic products | 10 | microgram/g | cosmetic product |
| Cadmium | Cosmetic products | 5 | microgram/g | cosmetic product |
How tested
The notice sets the numeric detection allowances in micrograms per gram. Product compliance is assessed under MFDS cosmetics safety and testing requirements.
Enforcement posture
The values are national cosmetics safety standards administered by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. They apply where the listed substances are unintentionally derived and technically impossible to remove completely.
History of changes
The local source is MFDS Notice No. 2025-63. It reflects the 2025 consolidated cosmetics safety standards.
How it compares
Korea’s mercury and cadmium values align with common 1 ppm mercury and 5 ppm cadmium cosmetic impurity limits. The lead framework is product-specific, with a higher 50 microgram/g allowance for clay-based powder products and 20 microgram/g for other products.
Sources
Update history
The five most recent substantive edits to this page, classified major (evidence or structure moved), correction (a published value or statement was wrong and has been fixed), or minor (narrative rewritten without changing the underlying evidence). Each description is derived from what the edit did to this page; the linked commit is the authoritative record, routine regeneration passes are excluded, and the full version history lives in git. When DOI minting comes online (see schema docs), each entry below will also link to a version-pinned DataCite DOI.
| Commit | Date | Change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| a8052bb | 2026-08-09 | major | 1 source added; contamination-profile values revised; 7 sections added |