TheRetailer_Summer_19
NEWS FROM THE BRC
Labelling Requirements for Cosmetic Claims
DAVID BOLTON RETAIL PRODUCTS Policy ADVISER British Retail Consortium
New elements apply 1st July 2019
In Europe, cosmetic claims are covered by Article 20 of the Cosmetic Products Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009 and Regulation (EU) No. 655/2013 - Common Criteria for Justification of Claims. The six Common Criteria for claims are Legal Compliance, Truthfulness, Evidential Support, Honesty, Fairness, Informed Decision-Making. The EU Commission and the EU Member States published a revised version of their guidelines for the labelling if cosmetic products. This new version contains two additional annexes, one on ‘free from’ claims (annex III) and one on the ‘hypoallergenic’ claim (annex IV). In summary, these new annexes introduce the following changes in the management of cosmetic claims:
• UK: Products already placed on the market and available in retailers supply chains can continue to be sold through. Decisions in other Member States differ. • Whilst not legally binding it reflects the common understanding by EU authorities • You might need to consider your claims around animal testing
Typical Claim Permitted Reasoning Legal Compliance Free from XXX ingredients where XXX is already prohibited No
Claims where the product is merely complying with the regulation are not permitted e.g. Corticosteroids Free is not permitted as corticosteroids are banned from cosmetic products. So, they should all be free.
Truthfulness Free From XXX ingredients Where XXX is a functional Category
No
This is only permitted if there is no ingredient of that group present e.g. colourants, preservatives. This ingredient must not be present or released e.g. formaldehyde
Evidential Support Free From
The absence of any specific ingredient or ingredients must be demonstrated by adequate and verifiable evidence
Honesty Free From XXX Where XXX is not supposed to be or is not typically used in the product Free from Allergenic / sensitising substances Free From XXX Where XXX is an ingredients category
No
Claims are not allowed where they refer to ingredients not normally used in that product e.g. claiming a fine fragrance is preservative free when it already has a high level of alcohol Not permitted. A complete absence of the risk of an allergic cannot be guaranteed and the product should not suggest that it will. Not permitted if the product contains ingredients with multiple functions and amongst these is the function it claims to be free from e.g. Preservative Free would be wrong if the product was not in the official list of preservatives but had antimicrobial properties. Fragrance Free is wrong if the product contains an ingredient exerts a perfume, regardless of its other possible functions. Note that exceptions are possible based on challenge tests on the formula without the ingredient.
No
No
Yes
50 | summer 2019 | the retailer
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