CoA, SDS, INCI and CAS: Which Cosmetic Ingredient Documents Do You Need?
Decode Certificates of Analysis, Safety Data Sheets, INCI names and CAS numbers when collecting cosmetic-manufacturer documentation.
This guide summarises EU or GB requirements as understood in October 2026. For product-specific decisions, the appointed Responsible Person and qualified specialists must review the actual dossier.
Four abbreviations — four different jobs
A Certificate of Analysis (CoA) usually reports measured properties or tests for a particular batch against an agreed specification. A Safety Data Sheet (SDS, formerly often called MSDS) focuses on hazards and safe handling. An INCI name is the standardised ingredient naming convention used in cosmetics; a CAS number is an identifier that may help identify a chemical substance. They do not substitute for one another.
Why one product can generate dozens of files
A finished serum may include water, humectants, preservatives, emollients, fragrance and several active ingredients. Each raw material may carry supplier specifications, hazard information, batch certificates, impurity information and other evidence. The finished product has its own formula, tests, packaging details and manufacturing records. The Product Information File brings the required information together for the RP and qualified safety assessor.
Purity is not finished-product concentration
This distinction causes avoidable errors. If a CoA reports 99.5% assay or purity for a raw-material batch, that does not tell you that the finished moisturiser contains 99.5% of that ingredient. A formulation percentage describes how much of the material goes into the finished product. For blends and compound raw materials, the relationship can become more complex. Keep those concepts as separate database fields and seek clarification rather than filling gaps by assumption.
What an effective supplier request should say
Instead of emailing 'send all compliance paperwork', request a precise set of files with the product formula version, ingredient identity, raw-material supplier, lot or specification where relevant, manufacturer GMP evidence and finished-product test reports. Ask which documents are applicable and which are unavailable. The manufacturer should have a route to share exact composition data confidentially with the authorised reviewer rather than exposing commercially sensitive percentages indiscriminately.
How automation helps — and where it stops
Document extraction can identify candidate INCI names, CAS numbers, document dates and test values. It should retain the original page, document version and confidence level, flag ambiguous percentages and never generate missing facts. A suitably qualified assessor must decide whether the evidence supports safety conclusions. That separation lets a system save administrative hours without pretending optical recognition software is a toxicologist.
Official sources
Regulatory guidance evolves. Follow the links below to check for subsequent updates.
You build the brand.
We handle the path to market.
Tell us about your products and we can discuss a scoped document and specialist coordination project.
Discuss your products ↗