Shampoo pulled from sale for containing a substance banned in Europe

Aemps (the Spanish agency for all medicines and health-related products) has ordered the withdrawal from sale of a batch of Color Vivo shampoo, labelled as Biopoint Milano, for containing butylphenyl methylpropional, better known as Lilial. The company responsible for putting the shampoo on the market is Biopoint SRL, based in the Italian city of Milan.

The use of this substance in cosmetic products has been banned in the European Union since 1 March 2022 in accordance with European Commission Regulation 2021/1902. It is an organic chemical compound belonging to the group of aromatic aldehydes. It is characterised by a floral scent, reminiscent of cyclamen or lily of the valley and, until a few years ago, it was one of the most popular ingredients found in many cosmetic fragrances, but its use went downhill after recent reports of its toxicity.

Lilial is now part of the CMR group of substances, which includes all substances that have been classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction. It is therefore recommended not to use any cosmetic product containing Lilial, especially for pregnant women, young children or for anyone using it daily in creams that do not require rinsing off with water.

In the case of the recalled shampoo, the affected batch is Ref EV00919 with reference number PS/CBV-CM 0067/2025. The medicines agency has ordered the product recall of all units distributed that match this batch. Aemps has also recommended that anyone having this shampoo in their homes should "stop using it immediately."

To resolve any questions related to this health alert, the following email address controlfarmaceutic.salut@gencat.cat has been set up. Anyone needing further information should indicate the batch number, brand and trade name of the product concerned in the subject line of the message.