Canada Gazette Publishes Proposed Ingredient Labeling Regulations
Canada Gazette reports, "The purpose of this initiative is to enhance the safety of Canadians by making available to consumers valuable information concerning the composition of cosmetics. Health Canada is proposing that manufacturers use the International Nomenclature for Cosmetic Ingredients (INCI) system for ingredient disclosure. Ingredient listing on product labels will provide Canadians with information that will allow them to avoid products that contain an ingredient that may cause an adverse reaction. Additionally, this initiative will provide medical professionals with ready access to the names of the ingredients in the product, thus allowing them to provide effective medical care should the need arise. The use of INCI would provide for uniform and consistent information to be delivered to both health professionals and consumers.
Currently, many countries including the United States and the members of the European Union require ingredient disclosure on cosmetic products. Furthermore, the majority of these countries require that the ingredients be listed using the INCI system. Despite the fact that Canada does not require ingredient disclosure at this time, several companies distributing cosmetic products in Canada include a list of ingredients on some (or all) of their products. However, many companies do not do so because it is not required by law.
The INCI system was designed in 1973 and developed over a period of more than 25 years. It was created by the American Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association (CTFA), and it is the mandatory nomenclature in both the United States and the European Union. Under the INCI system, most of the names for cosmetic product ingredients are technical chemical names that might not be readily understood by the consumer. However, this system was designed with the notion that INCI names act as universally understood symbols that can be recognized as representing a substance that may otherwise appear under many different trade names.
It is proposed that the regulatory amendment would reference the INCI system as found in the International Cosmetic Ingredient (ICI) Dictionary and Handbook, Ninth edition. However, there would be slight modifications to ensure that it meets Canadian needs. It is proposed that botanical ingredients would be listed using at least the Latin genus and species portion of their INCI name as they appear in the Dictionary. There are also a number of compounds, referred to as "trivial names," that are listed in both Latin and English in the Dictionary. The proposed amendments would require trivial names to be listed using either their Latin names, or using the English, provided that the equivalent French term is also used. The proposed amendment has been designed in such a way as to allow cosmetic companies enough flexibility to comply with the requirements of other countries, including the United States and the European Union.
The proposed amendment would also require that all ingredients be listed in descending order of predominance on the outer label of the cosmetic. In the case of fragrances and flavours, manufacturers would have the opportunity to make use of the expressions "parfum" (meaning fragrance) or "aroma" (meaning flavour) to represent these groups of ingredients. When products are sold in several colour shades, all possible colouring agents in the entire colour range could be listed, provided the symbol "±" or the phrase "may contain/peut contenir" is used. In the case of cosmetics sold in an ornamental container, the list of ingredients would be permitted to appear on a tag, tape, or card that is attached to the container. In the case of cosmetics for which the size, shape or texture renders it impractical for a tag, tape, or card to be affixed, the list of ingredients may appear in a leaflet that accompanies the cosmetic at the point of sale. This proposed regulatory amendment would come into force two years after its registration.
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"Regulations Amending the Cosmetic Regulations." Canada Gazette 27 03. 2004. 31 03. 2004
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