This Technical Report aims to contribute to providing general advice on strategies that can be adopted to minimize the likelihood of N-nitrosamine formation in cosmetic products and provide a description of the analytical methodologies available for the reliable determination of N-nitrosamines in cosmetic products. It also seeks to provide some insight into the relevance and limitations of each of the methods described and finally provide an analytical approach for the analysis of N-nitrosamines in cosmetic products and raw materials.

This Technical Report covers the reduction or elimination of adventitious nitrite sources, reduction or elimination of secondary amino sources, incorporation of inhibitors to N-nitrosamine formation and analytical methodologies for total N-nitroso compounds and specific methods for N-nitrosodiethanolamine (NDELA).