Roots by Benda — Cosmetic Regulatory Intelligence MCP Server

This Model Context Protocol (MCP) server provides cosmetic regulatory intelligence for ingredient safety and multi-jurisdiction compliance. It covers EU Regulation 1223/2009 and multiple named U.S. and global regulatory frameworks, using data on NOAEL, Margin of Safety (MoS), SCCS opinions, and related conclusions.

🛠️ Key Features

Cosmetic safety metrics: NOAEL and MoS
SCCS-based evidence and pre-calculated Margin of Safety
Multi-jurisdiction compliance across 12 jurisdictions
Scale: 30K ingredients; 884,345 rows of SCCS opinions, NOAEL studies, and CIR conclusions
Free availability
Tooling: 4 tools

🚀 Use Cases

Checking cosmetic ingredient safety
Supporting compliance workflows across EU, U.S., and international regulators

⚡ Developer Benefits

Focused regulatory-intelligence data for ingredient assessments
MCP-compatible access patterns via model-context-protocol

⚠️ Limitations

Scope is defined by the listed jurisdictions and referenced datasets (SCCS opinions, NOAEL studies, CIR conclusions).

Roots by Benda — Cosmetic Regulatory Intelligence MCP Server

The world's first cosmetic-regulatory MCP. Check cosmetic ingredient safety and multi-jurisdiction compliance — EU Regulation 1223/2009, US FDA, Korea MFDS, Japan MHLW, ASEAN, Saudi SFDA, Canada Hotlist, Australia SUSMP, ECHA SVHC, California Prop 65, California TFCA, Washington TFCA — backed by 884,345 rows of SCCS opinions, NOAEL studies, CIR conclusions, and pre-calculated Margin of Safety values.

Equivalent data licensed from commercial providers (Coptis, CosmEthics) runs €16,000/year. This MCP is free.

Live endpoint: https://roots-mcp-server.rootsbybenda.workers.dev/mcp SSE fallback: https://roots-mcp-server.rootsbybenda.workers.dev/sse

Tools

`check_ingredient`

Full regulatory profile for a single cosmetic ingredient by name, INCI name, or CAS.

Returns: SCCS safety opinion, EU Annex II/III/V/VI classification, pre-calculated Margin of Safety, NOAEL reference, dermal absorption, sensitization profile, CIR conclusion, endocrine-disruptor status, ECHA SVHC listing, China IECIC status, plus jurisdictional_profile — the regulatory status across all 12 supported jurisdictions in one response.

code

query: "retinol"
→ EU: restricted (0.05% body, 0.3% face); Korea_MFDS: restricted; California_Prop65: (not listed);
  SCCS/1639/21 — MoS 167 @ 0.3% face cream (pass); NOAEL 0.43 mg/kg bw/day

`check_formula`

Batch compliance scan for an INCI deck (up to 50 ingredients). Returns per-ingredient regulatory status, flagged restricted/banned substances, and overall formula risk level.

code

ingredients: "Aqua, Retinol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Titanium Dioxide, Phenoxyethanol"
jurisdiction: "EU"
→ Risk: MODERATE — 1 flagged (Retinol — restricted max 0.05% body leave-on under Annex III/321)

`search_ingredients`

Discovery search when you don't know the exact INCI. Filter by partial name, function, or category.

code

query: "sunscreen" → 10 matches (UV filters with safety ratings and EU status)
query: "preservative" → parabens, phenoxyethanol, benzyl alcohol, etc.

`calculate_mos`

Margin of Safety calculator per SCCS Notes of Guidance (SCCS/1647/22) methodology. Returns SED, MoS value, and pass/fail against the SCCS-100 threshold used in CPSR safety assessments.

code

ingredient: "retinol", concentration: 0.3, product_type: "face cream"
→ SED 0.129 mg/kg bw/day; MoS 333 (pass, >100 threshold); dermal absorption 40% (SCCS/1639/21)

Data

Dataset	Records
Ingredients (curated INCI)	30,553
NOAEL study records (EPA ToxRefDB, ChemIDplus, EPA-ECOTOX, EPA-IRIS, GESTIS-DNEL, EFSA, Cal-OEHHA, Health Canada)	174,973
Pre-calculated MoS values (SCCS methodology, 20 product categories)	99,535
Sensitization assays	8,898
Dermal absorption profiles	860
GHS classifications (PubChem)	468,165
Substance identifiers (INCI ↔ CAS ↔ EC ↔ CID crosswalk)	73,252
CIR safety conclusions	5,267
Multi-jurisdiction regulatory opinions (12 jurisdictions)	15,925
Distinct substances with multi-jurisdiction profile	6,917
TOTAL	884,345

100% source-traceability: every row has a src_local_path pointing at a specific primary-source file on disk and a src_verification_status in the verified set. No QSAR predictions, no unsourced aggregates.

Sources: SCCS opinions (EU Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety), CIR reports (Cosmetic Ingredient Review), EFSA evaluations, ECHA REACH dossiers, EPA ToxValDB, FDA databases, Korea MFDS, Japan MHLW, ASEAN Cosmetic Directive Annex II, Saudi SFDA, Health Canada Hotlist, Australia SUSMP/TGA, California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (Prop 65), California AB-2762 / AB-496, Washington SB 5369.

Quick Start

Claude Desktop / Claude Code

Add to your MCP config:

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "roots-by-benda": {
      "url": "https://roots-mcp-server.rootsbybenda.workers.dev/sse"
    }
  }
}

Cursor / Windsurf / Zed

Use the Streamable HTTP endpoint:

code

https://roots-mcp-server.rootsbybenda.workers.dev/mcp

Rate Limits

Every caller receives full data; a 60 requests/minute abuse-prevention limit applies per IP or validated user key.

Built With

Cloudflare Workers + Agents SDK
Cloudflare D1 (SQLite at the edge, 884,345 rows)
Durable Objects (session-scoped rate limiting)
Model Context Protocol (MCP)

Who Built This

Roots by Benda — cosmetic regulatory intelligence platform built by Shahar Ben-David (formulator) with Claude (CTO pair-programmer). Regulatory database assembled from primary sources across SCCS, CIR, EFSA, ECHA, EPA ToxValDB, FDA, and the 12 national/state regulatory bodies listed above.

Website: rootsbybenda.com
LinkedIn: Shahar Ben-David

License

MIT

query	string	required	Common cosmetic ingredient name (e.g. 'Retinol'), INCI name (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients, the standardized label name used for cosmetics, e.g. 'RETINOL'), or CAS number (Chemical Abstracts Service registry number, e.g. '68-26-8'). INCI is preferred for exact cosmetic regulatory matching.
jurisdiction	string	optional	Optional cosmetic regulatory market code for focused restriction checks. Legacy codes accepted: 'EU', 'US', 'CN', 'CA', 'KR', 'JP', 'BR', 'ASEAN', 'GCC', 'AU', 'IN', 'UK'. If omitted, the response still includes the full jurisdictional_profile across all 12 supported regulatory bodies from jurisdictional_status for multi-jurisdiction review.

ingredients	string	required	Comma-separated or newline-separated cosmetic INCI declaration exactly as it appears on a product label (e.g. 'Aqua, Retinol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Titanium Dioxide, Phenoxyethanol'). Max 50 ingredients per call. Include preservatives, colorants, UV filters, fragrance allergens, and botanicals because the formula scanner evaluates each line item.
jurisdiction	string	optional	Optional target cosmetic jurisdiction for compliance focus. Supported codes: 'EU' (Regulation 1223/2009), 'US' / 'US_FDA', 'Korea_MFDS', 'Japan_MHLW', 'ASEAN', 'Saudi_SFDA', 'Canada_Hotlist', 'Australia_SUSMP'. Legacy codes 'CN', 'CA', 'KR', 'JP', 'BR', 'GCC', 'AU', 'IN', 'UK' are accepted for backward compatibility; omit for the default EU + US multi-jurisdiction scan.

query	string	required	Cosmetic ingredient discovery keyword matching partial INCI/name, function, category, or ingredient family. Examples: 'sunscreen' for UV filters, 'preservative' for parabens and phenoxyethanol, 'retinoid' for retinol-family ingredients, or 'hyaluronic' for HA derivatives.
limit	number	optional	Maximum number of cosmetic ingredient matches to return (1-20, default 10). Use higher limits for broad category discovery and lower limits for exact INCI/name searches.

ingredient	string	required	Cosmetic ingredient common name, INCI name, or CAS number for the MoS calculation (e.g. 'retinol', 'RETINOL', '68-26-8'). Use the exact INCI when available so NOAEL and dermal absorption evidence map to the correct cosmetic ingredient.
concentration	number	required	Ingredient concentration in the finished cosmetic product as percent weight/weight (e.g. 0.5 for 0.5%). Use the maximum intended use concentration for conservative SCCS-style Margin of Safety assessment.
product_type	string	required	Cosmetic product type that determines exposure assumptions (e.g. 'body lotion', 'shampoo', 'lipstick', 'face cream', 'hand cream', 'shower gel', 'toothpaste', 'mouthwash', 'hair styling', 'deodorant'). Choose the closest leave-on, rinse-off, oral-care, hair, or lip product category.
body_weight	number	optional	Consumer body weight in kilograms for systemic exposure calculations (default: 60 for adults). Override when assessing children, low-body-weight consumers, or a scenario with a defined SCCS body-weight assumption.
dermal_absorption	number	optional	Dermal absorption percentage override from ingredient-specific toxicology or SCCS evidence. If not provided, the calculator uses the built-in default assumption and reports the absorption basis in the MoS result.

io.github.rootsbymenda/cosmetic-regulatory