Finnish Customs rejected 17 per cent of the controlled cosmetic products last year and most of them were originated from outside the European Union, said Customs in a press release on Friday.
Customs controlled the compliance of a total of 155 cosmetic products last year. The authority rejected 27 products and 23 of the products came from outside the EU.
The rejected products included sunscreens, exfoliating and depilatory preparations, make-up and various types of creams and lotions. Minor defects were found in 21 products, 18 of which were of non-EU origin.
“We focus particular attention on fragrances and preservatives that cause allergies and that are restricted through the cosmetics legislation. Later on, we will also start controlling the presence of asbestos in cosmetics in powder form,” said Jonna Savander, head of product safety of Finnish Customs.
The non-compliant cosmetic products were not allowed to enter the market. Some of the products were destroyed and some were returned to the seller.
“For instance, one eye cream contained high levels of aerobic microbes that are hazardous to health, and it was thus not allowed to enter the market,” said Savander.
There was also a large number of errors in the package labels of the cosmetic products. Some of the products, lacked warnings or sufficient instructions for use in Finnish or Swedish.
For some of the products, Customs did not receive any information from the seller about the composition of the product.
In 2028, new restrictions will be introduced for dozens of different fragrance allergens in the EU’s cosmetics regulation.
“In the future, these fragrance allergens must be itemised in the product’s list of ingredients, if they are present in the product in a specific concentration,” said customs chemist Emi Lagerspets.
This spring, restrictions will also be introduced for the size of silver particles and the silver concentration in products.
Customs controls consumer goods, such as cosmetics, at the point of their import from either within or outside the EU, and the control is based on Customs’ risk assessment. The products are examined and tested at the Customs Laboratory.
The responsibility for ensuring a product’s compliance with regulations lies with the manufacturer, seller, importer and distributor of the product. Products that are already on sale in Finland are, besides Customs, also overseen by the Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes).
The authorities do not oversee the online purchases of goods that Finnish consumers order directly for themselves.
- Customs
- Irregularities
- Cosmetics composition
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
