EU May Delay Phase-Out of Animal Testing

The European Commission is poised to start the process to push back the deadline for eliminating animal testing in cosmetics, according to sources.

The delay could last for four years and proponents insist the only alternative would be to ban new cosmetics—something the EU, of course, can’t afford to do.

While it was in place, the animal testing ban deadline spurred the pace of development of alternative tests. The new validated alternative tests that have come through in the last half-dozen years are also being used in toxicity testing of chemicals outside of the cosmetics industry.