European Commission settles confusion over animal testing under REACH and (EC) No 1223/2009

Published: 27-Oct-2014

Testing and marketing bans in the Cosmetics Regulation do not apply to testing required for environmental endpoints, exposure of workers and non-cosmetic uses of substances under REACH


Substances used in cosmetic products may need to be registered under REACH but, under certain circumstances, registrants may not have to carry out new tests on animals, the European Commission announced today.

Under the requirements of the new Cosmetics Regulation, (EC) No 1223/2009, it is prohibited to put products on the market where the final formulation, ingredients in a final formulation or a finished product have been subject to animal testing. Those same chemical ingredients may, however, also need to be registered under REACH. This, says the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), has created some uncertainty about whether testing on animals can take place in order to comply with REACH, or whether it should not, in order to comply with the Cosmetics Regulation.

The European Commission, in cooperation with ECHA, has now clarified the relationship between the marketing ban and the REACH information requirements as follows:

  • Registrants of substances that are exclusively used in cosmetics may not perform animal testing to meet the information requirements of the REACH human health endpoints, with the exception of tests that are done to assess the risks to workers exposed to the substance. Workers in this context, refers to those involved in the production or handling of chemicals on an industrial site, not professional users using cosmetic products as part of their business (eg hairdressers).
  • Registrants of substances that are used for a number of purposes, and not solely in cosmetics, are permitted to perform animal testing, as a last resort, for all human health endpoints.
  • Registrants are permitted to perform animal testing, as a last resort, for all environmental endpoints.

Therefore, the testing and marketing bans in the Cosmetics Regulation do not apply to testing required for environmental endpoints, exposure of workers and non-cosmetic uses of substances under REACH.

Registrants of substances registered exclusively for cosmetic use will still have to provide the required information under REACH wherever possible, by using alternatives to animal testing (such as computer modelling, read-across and weight of evidence).

Trending Articles

  1. You need to be a subscriber to read this article.
    Click here to find out more.

You may also like