New challenges for manufacturers of cosmetic products Are these actually only “cosmetic changes”?
The coming months will set further challenges for cosmetics manufacturers. Firstly, some of the changes arising from the Act on cosmetic products take effect on 1 September 2019, but probably, more importantly, the Polish audit authorities will start to apply the Technical Document on declarations regarding cosmetic products from 1 July 2019. One of the most important changes to which cosmetic manufacturers should pay attention will be the significant reduction in the ability to include the declarations “free from” and “hypoallergenic” on their products.
The Technical Document presents the guidelines for applying Commission regulation no. 655/2013 and specifies the common criteria regarding the declarations applied to cosmetic products. In particular, it specifies the types of declaration that can continue to be applied to products and when they can only be applied on condition that they are specified in detail or proved. Its role should be considered from two points of view – it is primarily addressed to the cosmetics sector as a set of best practices and, on the other hand, constitutes instructions for the audit authorities regarding their supervisory function.
The Technical Document specifies the principles referred to in the regulation and tightens the ability to apply them, indicating that they should be compliant with the regulations, true, proven, consistent with the facts, fair and enabling conscious decision-making. In practice, this means, for instance, that the declaration “does not contain parabens” will not be admissible, because not all parabens are dangerous, while such a declaration places the whole group of parabens in a bad light. In turn, it will only be possible to use the declaration of “hypoallergenic” if the cosmetic product was developed in order to minimize its allergenic potential. However, this declaration does not guarantee a complete lack of risk of allergic reactions and the product should not create the impression that it gives such a guarantee.
Although the Technical Document does not have the force of the applicable law – it only constitutes an interpretation of the laws – the Chief Sanitary Inspector has already taken the stance that cosmetic products should be consistent with the guidelines accepted in the Technical Document.
The new regulations have the objective of ensuring an appropriate level of safety of cosmetic products and a high level of consumer protection and this essentially means a number of new obligations imposed on entities from the cosmetics industry, which will need to introduce new solutions, such as, for instance, changes on labels, on packaging, in advertisements and in communications. It is important that these entities ensure that they conduct business and mark their products in compliance with the latest regulations, especially since the new Act provides for severe administrative fines for non-compliance – as much as up to 100,000 zlotys.
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