On July 30, 2026, the National Standardization Administration of China (SAC) announced the approval of national mandatory standard GB 7916-2026 Cosmetics—General safety requirements (hereinafter referred to as “GB 7916-2026”), and the implementation date will be January 1, 2028.

China’s cosmetics management system has gone through an overhaul during the period from 2019 to 2022, in which plenty of regulations on cosmetics products have been revised, including but not limited to the Regulation on the Supervision and Administration of Cosmetics (come into force on January 1 of 2021) and the Good Manufacturing Practice for Cosmetics (come into force on July 1 of 2022) etc. Together with the Cosmetic Safety Technical Specifications of China (2015 version, hereinafter referred to as “the Technical Specification”), they formed the market access threshold of the China market for such products. GB 7916-2026 is a key supportive document for the Technical Specification, and the original version was issued in 1987 under the name GB 7916-1987 Hygienic standard for cosmetics, and this 1987 version will stay effective until the implementation of the 2026 revision. Considering the significant changes on technologies, raw materials and market, the National Medical Products Administration of China (NMPA) launched the revision project and approved by SAC in 2025. The draft for comments was issued to public consultation in March of 2026.

This Standard specifies the general requirements, and those for raw material, and product, as well as for packaging materials and carriers, labeling, storage and transportation, and standard implementation. It applies to cosmetics produced and sold within the territory of the People's Republic of China, and it does not apply to cosmetics intended solely for export. Compared with the 1987 version, the main revisions of GB 7916-2026 include:

-   Add more terms and definitions for cosmetics and cosmetic ingredients. 

-   Improve general safety requirements for cosmetics. 

-   Add storage and transportation, as well as standard implementation requirements. 

-   Revise the list of prohibited substances and prohibited plant and animal materials in cosmetics.

To summarize, the new GB 7916 systematically compiles the mature and reliable technical requirements for cosmetic quality and safety supervision that have been tested through years of practice in China, while maintaining coordination and alignment with other relevant national and international standards. For relevant foreign stakeholders, this standard is of great importance as it is a fundamental safety benchmark for cosmetics production and operation within China, especially in the context that cosmetics are one of the most regulated products in the country like food, as it is of high attachment with consumer health and safety.