Canadian Fragrance Allergen Disclosure: 24 Now, 81 Coming

If you use essential oils, fragrance oils, or any aromatic ingredients in cosmetics sold in Canada, the way you list them on labels — and inside your Cosmetic Notification Form — has changed. The change rolls out in three phases, and the first one is already in effect.

The three deadlines

| When | What | Who it affects | |---|---|---| | April 12, 2026 (in effect) | 24 fragrance allergens must be individually named on labels and CNFs above the disclosure threshold | All cosmetics sold in Canada | | August 1, 2026 | List expands to 81 fragrance allergens | Newly-introduced products | | August 1, 2028 | Same expanded 81-allergen list | All existing products on the market |

Source: Health Canada — Cosmetic advertising, labelling and ingredients.

Disclosure thresholds (unchanged across phases)

You only need to individually name a fragrance allergen if it's present in the finished product above:

• Leave-on products (lotion, cream, balm, perfume, lip products): greater than 0.001% (10 ppm)
• Rinse-off products (shampoo, body wash, soap, scrub): greater than 0.01% (100 ppm)

Below these thresholds, the allergen can stay grouped under Parfum in the ingredient list.

What changed: from "Parfum" to individually named

Before April 12, 2026, all fragrance components could be hidden under a single Parfum entry on the ingredient list. Now, if any of the 24 allergens crosses its threshold, you must name it individually — for example:

Aqua, Glycerin, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Parfum, Linalool, Limonene, Tocopherol.

The same rule applies inside your CNF: the fragrance allergens become first-class line items in your ingredient list rather than being absorbed into "fragrance composition."

The 24 allergens currently required (April 12, 2026)

Many of these occur naturally in popular essential oils — they're not just synthetic fragrance components. Common ones:

• Linalool — lavender, coriander, rosewood, ylang ylang
• Limonene — citrus oils (lemon, orange, grapefruit, bergamot)
• Citral — lemongrass, lemon verbena, may chang
• Geraniol — rose, geranium, palmarosa
• Citronellol — rose, geranium, citronella
• Eugenol — clove, cinnamon leaf, basil
• Coumarin — tonka bean, lavender, sweetgrass
• Benzyl benzoate / Benzyl salicylate / Benzyl alcohol — natural in jasmine, ylang ylang, balsam
• Hexyl cinnamal — synthetic floral
• Hydroxycitronellal — lily-of-the-valley note
• Isoeugenol — clove leaf
• Methyl 2-octynoate — synthetic violet
• alpha-Isomethyl ionone — violet/iris
• Evernia furfuracea (Treemoss) and Evernia prunastri (Oakmoss) extracts

The full 24 are listed in our ingredient database — search by allergen name or filter for the fragrance allergen tag.

What's coming August 1, 2026: the 81-allergen expansion

Health Canada has aligned with EU Regulation 2023/1545, expanding the list to 81 substances. The 57 added include:

• Acetylcedrene, Carvone, Cedrol, Salicylates — common in woody/citrus blends
• Pinene (alpha and beta) — pine, fir, frankincense
• Camphor — rosemary, white camphor
• Citronellal — lemongrass, citronella
• Menthol — peppermint, spearmint
• Vanillin — vanilla, balsam Peru
• Acetylhexamethyl tetrahydronaphthalene — synthetic musk
• ... plus 50+ more

If you market a new product on or after August 1, 2026, all 81 must be checked.

What's coming August 1, 2028: existing products catch up

Products already on the market when the August 2026 expansion takes effect get a 2-year grace period. By August 1, 2028, every cosmetic on the Canadian market must comply with the 81-allergen disclosure list.

How to prepare — practical checklist

1. Get an allergen certificate from each fragrance oil supplier. This is a standard document called "Allergen Declaration" or "IFRA + Allergen Statement." Reputable suppliers provide it free on request.
2. Look up your essential oils. EOs aren't blends — their allergen content is well-published. Suppliers like New Directions Aromatics, Voyageur Soap & Candle, and Saffire Blue list typical allergen percentages on each EO product page.
3. Calculate the finished-product percentage. If your fragrance oil is 5% of the formula and contains 8% Linalool, then Linalool in the finished product is 0.4% — well above the 0.001% leave-on threshold. Disclose it.
4. Update labels and CNFs together. Don't update one and not the other; they must match.
5. Plan for August 2026. If you're launching a new SKU after that date, check it against the 81-list, not just the 24-list. The 57 additions are extensive and your old fragrance certificates may not cover all of them yet.

Where FormulaNorth fits in

The new free Fragrance Allergen Calculator does the math for you. Enter your fragrance oils and essential oils with their usage percentages, paste allergen breakdowns from your supplier's IFRA cert (or load a preset for natural EOs like lavender, rose, geranium, citrus, ylang ylang, clove…), and get a label-ready list of which allergens cross the disclosure threshold. Updates live as you type. No account needed.

The free CNF Readiness Checker flags fragrance allergens in your formula and reminds you of the disclosure threshold for your product type. The ingredient database tags allergen-status on each entry — all 81 are now flagged in the database (24 in effect today, 57 added Aug 2026).

For makers preparing soap or rinse-off products, the free soap calculator accounts for fragrance percentage too — you can see at a glance whether your typical 3-6% FO/EO load lands you over the disclosure threshold per allergen.

Bottom line

This isn't a small administrative change. For makers using natural fragrance heavily — lavender soap, citrus body wash, rose-geranium lotion — you may end up listing 4-8 individual allergens on labels that previously just said "Parfum." Plan label space accordingly, and start collecting allergen certificates from suppliers now if you haven't already.

Always verify your final label and CNF against the current Health Canada cosmetic-labelling guidance and your fragrance suppliers' allergen documentation before sale. The thresholds and list above are accurate as of publication, but Health Canada updates the list as new evidence emerges.