Jun. 4 – EU: Cosmetics safety rules to be rejuvenated

From the EU:

In February 2008, the Commission launched a proposal which essentially pursues two aims: ensuring a high level of safety of cosmetic products by strengthening manufacturer responsibility and in-market control aspects, while cutting unnecessary administrative burdens. “We are not proposing to change the approach to cosmetic products safety, but to make the rules easier to understand and comply with,” emphasises Mentré. The Commission proposes to replace the existing set of Directives with a single Regulation, which will apply directly throughout the Union. To make it easier for stakeholders to understand, a set of definitions – missing from the Directive – will be added. Another improvement will simplify the process of updating the list of ‘ingredient names’. This consists of around 15,000 substances used in cosmetics products, and needs to be updated frequently as firms try out new product ‘recipes’…

The European Commission has recently launched ‘CosIng’, an online database of the ingredients used in cosmetic products. Companies will more easily find up-to-date information on substances needed to develop new cosmetics or to improve existing ones. The new database replaces the old pdf format list, which was one of the most consulted documents on the Enterprise and Industry DG website. Using CosIng, businesses and authorities can now check if and how a substance is regulated at EU level, since when and how it has been regulated through the years, and read the opinions of the Scientific Committee on Consumer Products (SCCP) which form the basis of this legislation. Companies will no longer have to search through various documents to get the full picture

Click on the links for more information.