Legislation & Guidelines

What are the cosmetic regulations?

Labelling requirements regarding to:

• Corporate name, Country of origin (for a product outside the EU)
• Minimum durability (by a symbol or best before date)
• The batch number of manufacturer or the reference for identifying the cosmetic product.
• Required precautionary information, precaution symbols, list of ingredients.

Can be found in Article 4 of the Commodities Decree on cosmetic products.

Safety file requirements for cosmetic products:

• Composition of the product
• Purity of ingredients
• Microbiological specifications
• Safety assessment
• Justification of a cosmetic claim (example: “anti-wrinkle”)

Can be found in Article 6 of the Commodities Decree on cosmetic products.

Notification:

Before a company can manufacture a cosmetic product in the EU or if you are the first to import it into the European Union, you must send a notification to the European Commission via the Cosmetic Product Notification Portal (CPNP).

Companies who sent a notification earlier to the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, must one-time notify their products again before 11 Juli 2013 via the CPNP.

GMP:

The Cosmetics Regulation (EC) 1223/2009 requires that all cosmetic products placed on the European market comply with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) set by the ISO 22716 standard.

Many importers require a GMP Certificate or certificate of their manufacturer or third party before they will import products.

New European Legislation

Note: The REGULATION (EC) No 1223/2009 has been in force since 11 july 2013: findable in Google with keyword “1223 2009”

Entering the European market for soap: cbi.eu

Information: NCV – NVWA

Safety files and tests: SkinConsult BV

Product Analysis: Balis Micro BV / Balis Laboratorium BV

Private Label Cosmetics & Medical Devices: Cosmade Belgium