On 25 November 2013, the European Commission published an Implementing Decision containing guidelines to assist responsible persons comply with their regulatory obligations under the EU Cosmetics Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 (Cosmetics Regulation).  The guidelines provide clarity on Annex I of the Cosmetics Regulation, which sets out the minimum requirements for cosmetic product safety reports.  The Implementing Decision will enter into force in mid-December 2013.

Under the Cosmetics Regulation, cosmetic products placed on the EU market must be safe for human health when used under normal and reasonably foreseeable conditions of use, taking into account, among other things, the product’s presentation and labelling.  A legal or natural person designated within the EU as the “responsible person” must ensure that each cosmetic product placed on the EU market has a cosmetic product safety report drawn up in accordance with the requirements of Annex I of the Cosmetics Regulation.  This safety report forms part of the product’s information file, which the responsible person must keep for a period of 10 years following the placing on the market of the last batch of product.

The Commission’s guidelines supplement the minimum requirements for cosmetic product safety reports described in Part A and Part B of Annex I of the Cosmetics Regulation.  They follow the format of Annex I and set out additional information on each heading of each part of the Annex.  Part A of the Annex relates to the cosmetic product safety information, i.e., the data necessary for the safety assessment of the product, while Part B relates to the safety assessment itself and the reasons for drawing conclusions as to the product’s safety.

The guidelines are not intended to replace the knowledge and expertise of the qualified safety assessor, defined in Article 10(2) of the Cosmetics Regulation, who should remain the only professional allowed to carry out the cosmetic product safety assessment described in Part B of Annex I.  However, they provide clarity on the requirements of the cosmetic product safety report, which will assist manufacturers and importers of cosmetic products intended for the EU market, and their designated responsible persons, comply with their regulatory obligations under EU law.

Tags: cosmetic, cosmetics regulation, European Commission, Guidelines, responsible person
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Photo of Sarah Cowlishaw Sarah Cowlishaw

Advising clients on a broad range of life sciences matters, Sarah Cowlishaw supports innovative pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device, diagnostic and technology companies on regulatory, compliance, transactional, and legislative matters.

Sarah is a partner in London and Dublin practicing in the areas of EU…

Advising clients on a broad range of life sciences matters, Sarah Cowlishaw supports innovative pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device, diagnostic and technology companies on regulatory, compliance, transactional, and legislative matters.

Sarah is a partner in London and Dublin practicing in the areas of EU, UK and Irish life sciences law. She has particular expertise in medical devices and diagnostics, and on advising on legal issues presented by digital health technologies, helping companies navigate regulatory frameworks while balancing challenges presented by the pace of technological change over legislative developments.

Sarah is a co-chair of Covington’s multidisciplinary Digital Health Initiative, which brings together the firm’s considerable resources across the broad array of legal, regulatory, commercial, and policy issues relating to the development and exploitation of digital health products and services.

Sarah regularly advises on:

  • obligations under the EU Medical Devices Regulation and In Vitro Diagnostics Medical Devices Regulation, including associated transition issues, and UK-specific considerations caused by Brexit;
  • medical device CE and UKCA marking, quality systems, device vigilance and rules governing clinical investigations and performance evaluations of medical devices and in vitro diagnostics;
  • borderline classification determinations for software medical devices;
  • legal issues presented by digital health technologies including artificial intelligence;
  • general regulatory matters for the pharma and device industry, including borderline determinations, adverse event and other reporting obligations, manufacturing controls, and labeling and promotion;
  • the full range of agreements that span the product life-cycle in the life sciences sector, including collaborations and other strategic agreements, clinical trial agreements, and manufacturing and supply agreements; and
  • regulatory and commercial due diligence for life sciences transactions.

Sarah has been recognized as one of the UK’s Rising Stars by Law.com (2021), which lists 25 up and coming female lawyers in the UK. She was named among the Hot 100 by The Lawyer (2020) and was included in the 50 Movers & Shakers in BioBusiness 2019 for advancing legal thinking for digital health.

Sarah is also Graduate Recruitment Partner for Covington’s London office.

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