The FDA just published a status check on the biggest shake-up in cosmetics regulation in decades. Per an FDA Voices blog posted on 4 May 2026, the agency is implementing the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act, the 2022 law that for the first time gave FDA authority over cosmetic facility registration, product listing, mandatory recall authority, and safety substantiation. The short version for shoppers: the paperwork era of cosmetics oversight is now running, but several label-changing rules are still unwritten.
This site publishes information, not legal advice; what follows is a status report on the rules that shape the labels you read, per the FDA's own pages.
Which MoCRA rules are already in force?
The registration ones. Manufacturers and processors must register their facilities with FDA and renew that registration every two years, and products must be listed with the agency, per the FDA's MoCRA page. These requirements matter to readers because they are what make recalls targeted instead of scattershot: with a product inventory on file, the agency knows exactly which lots and brands are in commerce when a problem surfaces.
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What is still missing from your label?
Fragrance allergen disclosure and finished Good Manufacturing Practice rules. MoCRA requires FDA to establish fragrance allergen labeling requirements, which would force brands to name specific allergens currently hidden inside the word fragrance, but no proposed or final rule date appears on the agency's page as of the 4 May 2026 update. The same goes for the cosmetics GMP regulation, which remains in development, per the FDA.
For anyone who reads INCI lists, the fragrance piece is the one to watch. An estimated share of contact allergies trace to fragrance components, per dermatological sources, and today's ingredient lists rarely name them. When the final rule lands, the allergen names will have to appear on pack.
What happened to the talc testing rule?
It was withdrawn. A proposed rule on standardized testing methods for asbestos in talc-containing cosmetics, issued in December 2024, was pulled back via a withdrawal notice in November 2025, per the FDA's MoCRA page. The agency's separate advisory against certain talc-contaminated products remains in place from earlier actions, but the testing-methods rule is off the books for now.
The 4 May blog is best read as a progress marker rather than a milestone. Registration and listing, the plumbing of the new system, are live; the consumer-facing rules, allergen names on labels, enforceable GMPs, sit unfinished. Per the FDA's own timeline, watch this space: each of those rules will arrive in writing before it arrives on packaging.