Canada: New regulation for cosmetics

 

Canada has published Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Concerning the Disclosure of Cosmetic Ingredients.

The Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Concerning the Disclosure of Cosmetic Ingredients (amended Regulations) address a number of matters related to the requirements for cosmetics under the Food and Drugs Act and include consequential amendments to the Cannabis Regulations under the Cannabis Act.

The last significant amendments to the Cosmetic Regulations came into force in 2006, when disclosure of ingredients on cosmetic labels became mandatory. The Cosmetic Regulations permit the use of the term “parfum” at the end of the list of ingredients to indicate the presence of a fragrance ingredient, or a mixture of fragrance ingredients, in a cosmetic.

The amended Regulations address this issue by strengthening the labelling requirements for cosmetics and requiring the disclosure of certain fragrance allergens on cosmetic labels, when present at a concentration greater than 0.01% in rinse-off products and 0.001% in leave-on products. The amended Regulations incorporate by reference, on an ambulatory basis, fragrance allergens listed in Annex III of the European Commission’s Cosmetic Products Regulation as well as the transition period set out in that Annex for future updates to substances identified for disclosure. This approach facilitates alignment with the European Union (EU).

The amended Regulations will also:

• introduce additional flexibility for the disclosure of ingredients of cosmetics sold in small packages;
• improve regulatory oversight of cosmetics through clarifying terminology, strengthening cosmetic notification requirements, and enhancing compliance and enforcement tools; and
• make changes of an administrative nature.

To find out more about product compliance in Canada and compliance for cosmetics, please contact the Product Compliance Institute directly.