02.09.09
ICMAD To Host Fourth Annual Technical/Regulatory Forum
The Independent Cosmetic Manufacturers and Distributors (ICMAD) association will host its fourth Cosmetic Technical/Regulatory Forum on Feb. 26 from 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. at The Portofino Hotel and Yacht Club, Redondo Beach, CA. Registration and continental breakfast will begin at 8 a.m.
According to ICMAD, this forum is an opportunity for anyone working in the cosmetic and personal care industry to learn from recognized experts and to assure their company’s compliance with manufacturing, labeling, and distribution requirements for import/export. ICMAD’s technical and regulatory experts in both domestic and international markets will offer the latest information on the industry’s hottest topics.
The session will include a regulatory update, “Importing/Exporting with Emphasis on the Impact of the Lacey Act on Cosmetic Companies,” REACH and “How to Substantiate Your Claims and Online Reference Information.”
New this year is a session on “How to Label Your Cosmetic Product for the International Market.” The cost for this all day workshop is $375 for members and $550 for non-members, which covers workshop materials, continental breakfast, lunch and post-seminar reception.
More info: (800) 334-2623, e-mail info@icmad.org; website: www.icmad.org/calendar.
The Council Appoints Two Panelists To Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR)
The Personal Care Products Council recently added two new members to the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel: Dr. Daniel Liebler, who is current director at the Jim Ayers Institute for Precancer Detection and Diagnosis, and professor of biochemistry, pharmacology and biomedical informatics at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and Dr. Ronald Hill, an associate professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
“We’re delighted to have these two outstanding individuals join the CIR Expert Panel,” said Panel Chair Wilma F. Bergfeld, M.D. “With their extensive expertise in chemistry, both Dr. Hill and Dr. Liebler will undoubtedly prove invaluable additions to an already experienced team of diverse CIR panelists.”
According to The Council, the CIR provides an additional layer of safety to existing Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversight and regulation by thoroughly reviewing and assessing the safety of ingredients used in cosmetics worldwide.
Founded more than 30 years ago, CIR is an independent, nonprofit program with a panel of world-renowned scientists and physicians. Members of the Expert Panel hail from leading scientific and medical institutions.
China Requires Cosmetics To List All Ingredients
The Beijing Drug Administration has issued a directive that will require Chinese-made and imported cosmetics to list all their ingredients. Products that do not meet this requirement will be suspended from the market in China. The requirement will give consumers information about whether a product contains lead, pigments, mercury and other questionable ingredients, according to an NRF Global SmartBrief.
According to a directive from the Beijing Drug Administration (BDA), starting in June 2010, both domestic and imported cosmetics should be marked with all their ingredients and products that fail to meet the requirement will be suspended from the Chinese market.
A representative from the BDA told local media that, generally speaking, cosmetics manufacturers are willing to mark the nutrients in their products like vitamin C, vitamin E, ginseng, and aloe. But labels do not show some auxiliary ingredients such as preservatives, pigments, flavoring essences, surfactants and anti-corrosion fungicides.
In European countries and the U.S., the ingredients of a cosmetic product must be marked and listed in accordance with the amount of each contents. A relevant regulation of the European Union says that even though not all the contents can be marked on the ingredient list for trade secret reasons, the manufacturer must hand in an application for confidentiality to the supervisory authority. However, when those international cosmetics brands are sold in China, their Chinese instructions are usually curtailed.
Commenting on this situation, the BDA said that cosmetics companies are currently changing their packaging and instructions to meet the new requirements in China. The adjustments would be completed before June 2010 and the sales of products that failed to meet the new policy would be prohibited at that time, says the report.The administration added that the new rule would serve to enhance the rights and interests of consumers while assisting supervision by the departments concerned.