Regulation of Cosmetics by the Cosmetic Industry

Join our Newsletter

Regulation of Cosmetics by the Cosmetic Industry

Over the years, cosmetic and personal care products manufacturers have gone beyond the requirements of the law to make available additional safety information and technical resources. Industry programs established to support the FDA's regulatory work include:

Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel

The CIR expert panel (www.cir-safety.org) is an independent, non-profit scientific body that was launched in 1976 with support of the FDA and the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) to assess the safety of ingredients used in cosmetics in the US. The panel consists of world-renowned scientists and physicians who have been publicly nominated by consumer, scientific and medical groups, government agencies, and industry.

The CIR thoroughly reviews and assesses the safety of ingredients used in cosmetics in an open, unbiased, and expert manner and publishes the results of its work in peer-reviewed scientific literature. FDA, CFA and the Personal Care Products Council provide non-voting liaisons to the Panel and are actively involved in the comment and discussion process.


	What the CIR Does

	Conducts extensive scientific literature searches Compiles research data Prepares safety reports Publishes safety reports (e.g. in International Journal of Toxicology) Calls on cosmetic industry to undertake specific safety studies

Personal Care Products Council (PCPC)

The Personal Care Products Council (www.personalcarecouncil.org), formerly known as the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association, is the leading national trade association for the cosmetic and personal care products industry and represents the most innovative names in beauty today. For more than 600 member companies, the council is the voice on scientific, legal, regulatory, legislative and international issues for the personal care product industry. The council is a leading and trusted source of information for and about the industry and a vocal advocate for consumer safety and continued access to new, innovative products.


	What the PCPC Does

	Represents the cosmetic industry at the federal, state and local level on issues of interest to the personal care and cosmetic industry Introduced the 'Consumer Commitment Code' which reinforces existing company practices and introduce some new safety practices that go beyond the requirements of the law Follows, identifies and obtains legal and regulatory documents from all over the world and maintains the International Regulatory Database (IRDB) Issues certificates of free sale (CFS) to Council members to certify that products exported from the US to other countries meet all state and federal laws and regulations Accepts and processes applications for new ingredients to be named and registered in the INCI database (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients) Publishes the Ingredient Buyers Guide featuring over 17,000 ingredients listed by INCI name and cross-referenced to over 65,000 technical and trade names Publishes the Suppliers Directory Publishes the Online Info-Base

Consumer Commitment Code

In 2007, the Personal Care Products Council instituted a Consumer Commitment Code to provide consumers, regulators and other interested parties with a clear outline of the specific commitments and practices of cosmetic and personal care products companies to ensure the continued safety of all cosmetic products.

The Code incorporates and strengthens some practices already in place for most companies, such as the current reporting of manufacturing establishments; and it includes new practices such as a Safety Information Summary Program that makes information relevant to cosmetic product and ingredient safety readily available to the FDA upon request. Below is summary of the main principles of the Code; the entire text can be read at the Personal Care Product Council's website.


	Principles of the Consumer Commitment Code

	A company should market cosmetic products only after ensuring that every ingredient and finished product has been substantiated for safety When marketing a cosmetic product containing an ingredient that exceeds limits on concentration or product type established by the CIR Expert Panel, a company should possess information sufficient to substantiate the safety of this ingredient When marketing a cosmetic product containing an ingredient for which the CIR Expert Panel has found insufficient data to determine safety, a company should possess information sufficient to substantiate the safety of this ingredient A company should participate in the applicable parts of the FDA Voluntary Cosmetic Reporting Program for products marketed in the US Although adverse events that are both serious and unexpected are extremely rare for cosmetic products, a company should notify the FDA of any known serious and unexpected adverse event A company should maintain a safety information summary of ingredient and product safety information and data regarding its cosmetic products marketed in the US

Shopping Cart

Subtotal:	$0.00