Homosalate was identified in a court case brought by German chemical company Symrise who claimed that the ingredient used in sunscreen did not require animal testing.

Symrise lost the appeal against a European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) decision that requires the German manufacturer to test sunscreen ingredients on animals.

[4] The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) decision applies to two formerly approved ingredients used exclusively in sunscreens — UV filter homosalate and 2-ethylhexyl salicylate.

An in vivo study involving repeated subcutaneous injections of homosalate at dose levels up to 1000mg/kg of body weight to juvenile female Wistar rats over three consecutive days revealed no estrogenic potential in the uterotrophic assay.

Another study on immature Long-Evans rats receiving up to 892 mg/kg of body weight of homosalate in their daily diet found no estrogenic effects in vivo.