The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is an EU agency that implements EU legislation on chemicals to protect health and the environment.
Since 1 January 2021, chemical mixtures classified as hazardous no longer need to be reported to national authorities, but instead to the ECHA in a standardised manner. These Poison Centre Notifications (PCNs) standardise and simplify the reporting process and flow of information within the EU. In addition to data on physical and chemical properties, they also contain information on composition, hazard classes, toxicological data and much more. When PCN notifications are submitted, the mixtures are also assigned a UFI code (Unique Formula Identifier), a 16-digit mixture-specific code that enables rapid identification of the product in emergencies. Cosphatec products also fall under this definition.
Depending on the recipient of a mixture, there are various mandatory reporting deadlines by which producers must create a PCN:
| recipient | Mandatory reporting from |
|---|---|
| consumer | 01.01.2020* |
| Commercial use (no industrial facilities) | 01.01.2021 |
| Exclusive use in industrial plants | 01.01.2024 |
| Mixture has already been reported to national authorities (e.g. in Germany: BfR) | 01.01.2025 |
| *Postponed to 1 January 2021 | |
Ambiguities in the definition
or this classification, it is therefore important who the final recipient of the mixture is. For example, if a producer manufactures a shampoo product for use at home or in a hairdresser’s salon, the users of the final product are deemed to be consumers. The reporting requirement would therefore be effective from 1.1.2021. Nevertheless, this definition left plenty of room for interpretation and many questions unanswered – and led to uncertainty among manufacturers. With “Guidance on Regulation (EC) No. 1272/2008 on classification, labelling and packaging (CLP) of substances and mixtures, version 4.0, March 2021” (currently only in English), the ECHA has now provided a clear definition.
If the final application for which a mixture is used is a cosmetic end product or an end product which is not classified as hazardous, it is exempt from the reporting period for consumer and commercial use. This also includes hair dye, for example.
According to the current guideline, manufacturers of mixtures for cosmetics production must comply with the reporting deadlines for use in industrial plants. This gives them a little more time and extends the deadline for PCN reporting to 1 January 2024 – which, of course, also includes all Cosphatec products subject to reporting requirements.
Here you can ready the exact wording of the „Guidelines on harmonised information for emergency health response – Annex VIII to the CLP Regulation“ here.“
„Please note that the notification should list the type of use of the original mixture placed on the market by the notifier and the final mixtures into which it may have been incorporated (see section 5.2.3). However, if original mixtures are incorporated into final mixtures that are not subject to notification requirements (e.g. if the final mixture is a cosmetic product or the final mixture is not classified due to its health or physical hazards), the uses of these final mixtures do not need to be taken into account for the purposes of notification requirements relating to the original mixture. For example, if a mixture supplied to a consumer for industrial use is incorporated into a final mixture that is classified solely on the basis of environmental hazards, a notification for mixtures for industrial use is sufficient (relevant compliance deadline and option for a shortened notification).“
