EWG Skin Deep® | What is BETA CAROTENE

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Fair

Beta Carotene

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Persistence and bioaccumulation (moderate) and Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate)

SYNONYMS

● B,BCAROTENE

● B-CAROTENE

● BETA CAROTENE

● BETA,BETA-CAROTENE

● BETA-CAROTENE

● FOOD ORANGE 5

● NATURAL YELLOW 26

Restricted

Restricted: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient without adequate substantiation

Beta carotene is a carotenoid compound prepared synthetically or obtained from natural sources; can be used as a pigment with a strong red-orange color. In the human body, beta carotene is converted to Vitamin A.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

LOW

Cancer
LOW

Allergies & Immunotoxicity
LOW

Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
LOW

Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

CONCERNS
DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

CC cream	35 products
moisturizer	28 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	27 products
daily use with SPF	19 products
serums & essences	16 products
mask	14 products
foundation	12 products
hair treatment/serum	9 products
bar soap	7 products
facial cleanser	6 products
around-eye cream	5 products
lip balm	4 products
toners/astringents	4 products
styling gel/lotion	3 products
anti-aging	3 products
body oil	3 products
mascara	3 products
exfoliant/scrub	3 products
recreational sunscreen	2 products
makeup remover	2 products
cuticle treatment	2 products
nail treatment	1 products
bath oil/salts/soak	1 products
makeup primer	1 products
	1 products
lip balm with SPF	1 products
hair color and bleaching	1 products
hair removal waxes	1 products
BB cream	1 products
beard cleanser	1 products
beard oil	1 products
tanning oil	1 products
hair styling aide	1 products
facial cleansing wipes	1 products
baby oil	1 products
body wash/cleanser	1 products
conditioner	1 products
after sun product	1 products
shampoo	1 products

Persistence and bioaccumulation

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Persistent or bioaccumulative and moderate to high toxicity concern in humans	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List
Not suspected to be bioaccumulative	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Classified as medium human health priority	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmful	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Ecotoxicology

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Suspected to be an environmental toxin and be persistent or bioaccumulative (uncertainty in environmental toxicity or persistence/bioaccumulation)	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List
Uncertain environmental toxin and uncertain persistent or bioaccumulative	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Multiple, additive exposure sources

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food	FDA Food Additive Status
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food	FDA Everything Added to Food

Informational

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - Color additive approved by FDA for use in cosmetics	FDA Color Additive Status
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - Color Additives - Exempt from Batch Certification by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration	CTFA International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
11050 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical	NLM PubMed

EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) 2006. Food Additive Status List. Downloaded from http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/%7Edms/opa-appa.html, Oct 16, 2006.
FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration). 2008. EAFUS [Everything Added to Food]: A Food Additive Database. FDA Office of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) 2006. Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Color Additive Status List. September 2006.
CTFA (Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association). 2006. International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook, 11th Edition. Color Additive Information. Washington, DC.
NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.

Understanding scores

Cosmetics and personal care products are not required to be tested for safety before being allowed on the market. The Skin Deep® scoring system was designed to help the public understand whether a product is safe to use or whether it contains ingredients of concern.

Every product and ingredient in Skin Deep gets a two-part score – one for hazard and one for data availability. The safest products score well by both measures, with a low hazard rating and a fair or better data availability rating.

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES

Hazard score

The Skin Deep ingredient hazard score, from 1 to 10, reflects known and suspected hazards linked to the ingredients. The EWG VERIFIED^® mark means a product meets EWG’s strictest criteria for transparency and health.

Data availability

The Skin Deep data availability rating reflects the number of scientific studies about the product or ingredient in the published scientific literature.

NONE LIMITED FAIR GOOD ROBUST

Low Availability

Moderate Availability

High Availability