From: Health Canada

To help cosmetic manufacturers satisfy the requirements for sale of a cosmetic, Health Canada developed the Hotlist – an administrative list of substances that are restricted and prohibited in cosmetics.

The March 2011 Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist replaces the June 2010 version.  To view the changes made, please refer to the document entitled “March 2011 changes to the Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist” on Health Canada’s website.

Health Canada welcomes stakeholders to submit comments on proposed changes to the Hotlist. Entries for ingredients are proposed to be added to the Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist as a restriction or a prohibition via consultation process.

For more information on the Hotlist, click on the above link.

From: Health Canada

This recall involves several La Biosthetique brand aerosol hair care products. The following hair care products come in pressurized containers with the name “Biosthetics” written on the side. In total, six products coming in various sizes have been recalled.

The recalled products do not meet labelling requirements for potentially flammable and explosive products under Canadian law. This lack of labelling information, including appropriate warnings, could result in misuse of the product and lead to serious injury.

The recalled products were sold from June 2010 to October 2010.

Click on the links for more information.

From: Prop 65 Clearinghouse Blog

A recent report issued by the David Suzuki Foundation (DSF) claims that Canada needs stronger rules in keeping toxic chemicals out of its personal care products. According to the report an online survey from earlier this year asked participants to inspect their product ingredient lists for twelve sets of potentially harmful chemicals used as ingredients in cosmetics. The survey resulted in more than 6,200 Canadians participating in the survey, who collectively provided information for 12,500 personal care products. Four out of five of the products entered in the survey contained at least one ingredient with suspected links to environmental or health problems including cancer, reproductive disorders, asthma and severe allergies.

The report identifies several weaknesses in Canada’s cosmetic ingredient labeling and notification requirements. For example, manufacturers are not required to disclose specific fragrance ingredients and instead use the generic term “parfum” on ingredient lists in order to disguise a cocktail of potentially harmful chemicals. Products labeled “unscented” and “fragrance-free” may contain unspecified fragrance ingredients used to mask the odor of other chemicals. “Parfum” was the most commonly reported ingredient, identified in more than half of the products entered in the survey.

For more information on this report, click the above link.

Earlier this month, Nexreg launched a free video series titled ‘Nexreg on Compliance’ which addresses hazard communication (HazCom) issues for jurisdictions such as Canada, the United States and the European Union.  The videos can be found on Nexreg’s YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/Nexreg.

Today, a new video has been released:

• The Van Halen Theory of Regulatory Compliance

The Van Halen Theory of Regulatory Compliance illustrates why it is important to get the small details right on your MSDS and consumer chemical product labels under CPSC, CCCR and EU regulations.

Nexreg plans on adding a new video every Friday.  The questions answered in the video series will come from viewer requests, so please send your questions to info@nexreg.com.

To learn more about Nexreg Compliance please visit www.nexreg.com or call our toll-free line at (866)361-3032.

Earlier this month, Nexreg launched a free video series titled ‘Nexreg on Compliance’ which addresses hazard communication (HazCom) issues for jurisdictions such as Canada, the United States and the European Union.  The videos can be found on Nexreg’s YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/Nexreg.

Today, a new video has been released:

• What Do I Need to Do to Sell a Cosmetic Product in Canada?

This video details the steps required in order to sell a consumer cosmetic, such as a lipstick or hair gel in Canada for the first time.

Nexreg plans on adding a new video every Friday.  The questions answered in the video series will come from viewer requests, so please send your questions to info@nexreg.com.

To learn more about Nexreg Compliance please visit www.nexreg.com or call our toll-free line at (866)361-3032.

From The FDA Department of Health and Human Services

The International Cooperation on Cosmetic Regulation (ICCR) held its fourth annual meeting (ICCR-4) July 13-15, 2010 in Toronto, Canada to discuss issues related to cosmetics and cosmetic-like drug/quasi-drug products.  ICCR is an international group of cosmetic regulatory authorities from Canada, the European Union, Japan, and the United States.  This multilateral framework maintains the highest level of global consumer protection, while minimizing barriers to international trade. As part of this meeting, the regulators entered into a dialogue with cosmetics industry trade associations from each region.

The meeting focused on the following topics:

* Alternative Test Methods
* Cosmetics Labeling
* Involvement of Interested Parties at ICCR
* Nanotechnology
* Standard Operating Procedures of Working Groups
* Sunscreens
* Trace Contaminants

The next ICCR meeting will be held in Europe in 2011…

Click on the links for more information.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: CPSC compliance, OSHA MSDS authoring, MSDS authoring

From AOL News:

Most Americans use about 10 personal care products each day. The toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant, baby powder and other things that we routinely douse or slather on our bodies expose us to at least 100 different chemicals. Many of these, public health experts say, have been linked to adverse health effects like cancer, birth defects and learning disabilities.
Under the current absence of oversight, it’s legal for cosmetics companies to use virtually any ingredient with no pre-market safety assessment.

But that may begin to change as two Democratic lawmakers — Reps. Jan Schakowsky from Illinois and Edward Markey from Massachusetts — introduced the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 today. If passed, it will be the first meaningful effort to give the FDA the teeth, tools and mandate to protect consumers from harmful products that are used by almost everyone.

Some of what the legislation calls for includes:
•Ingredients linked to cancer and birth defects being phased out of personal care products.
•Health-based safety standards for all ingredients in cosmetics that includes protections for children and other vulnerable populations.
•Required listing on product labels of all chemical ingredients in personal care products, including fragrances and contaminants.
•Worker access to information about hazardous chemicals they may encounter in the manufacturing of personal care products.
•Adequate funding and support of the FDA Office of Cosmetics and Colors to pay for this oversight of the cosmetics industry.

In 1938, Congress passed the Federal Food, Drugs and Cosmetics Act. Its provisions required new products to be shown safe before marketing. That pretty much never happened with cosmetics.

“This legislation would create a system that people think already exists — one that requires companies to assess chemicals for safety and disclose all the ingredients in their products,” Stacy Malkan, co-founder of Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, told AOL News.

Click on the links for more information.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: CPSC compliance, OSHA MSDS authoring, MSDS authoring

From Health Canada:

The innovative and rapidly evolving nature of cosmetics, together with globalization, has prompted Health Canada to consider ways of modernizing Canada’s Cosmetic Regulations. The modernization of the Food and Drugs Act, including the Cosmetic Regulations, have been identified as action items under the Government of Canada’s Food and Consumer Safety Action Plan.

This survey represents the first phase of a multi-phase consultation with stakeholders, including industry representatives, members of the general public and not-for-profit/non-government groups. The feedback obtained will be analysed and carefully considered by Health Canada in the formulation of potential changes and modernization concerning the way in which cosmetics are regulated. In the longer term, there will be additional consultation for the development of a modernized regulatory framework for cosmetics, including a final consultation on the fully developed framework.

For more information, to make a comment by email, or to take the online survey, click on the link above.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: CCCR compliance, WHMIS MSDS authoring, MSDS authoring

From Health Canada:

To help cosmetic manufacturers satisfy the requirements for sale of a cosmetic, Health Canada developed the Hotlist – a list of substances that are restricted and prohibited in cosmetics.

This September 2009 Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist replaces the March 2007 version. Please refer to the document entitled “September 2009 changes to the Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist” to view the changes made.

Click on the links for more information about the chemicals listed on the Hotlist, as well as what to do if your product contains a hotlisted chemical.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: CCCR compliance, WHMIS MSDS authoring, MSDS authoring

We now have our 2009-2010 catalog available for download, which describes the services that Nexreg provides.  We would like to thank all of our clients who provided testimonials for our catalog.

To download a copy of our catalog, click on the link below:

• Nexreg 2009-2010 Catalog.

To request a printed or an e-mailed copy sent to you, please use the following link:

• Request a Catalog

We look forward to hearing from you.