On 3 February last, the Ideal de Granada published the article Three thousand cosmetic products recalled from bazaars for being harmful to feetl. The news refers to an annual report of the Consumer Service. In 2015, the following were removed from the shelves of Granada's bazaars 23,000 products of all kinds - cosmetics, drugstore, electrical and small household appliances and toys - for non-compliance with their respective regulations.
This news is interesting for two reasons: firstly, and undoubtedly the most important, because in terms of cosmetovigilance, it gives us an idea of the number of fraudulent cosmetic products that can be found in our country's shops. And, as the Councillor for the Environment, Science, Health and Consumer Affairs states Telesfora Ruiz in the article, “extreme caution should be exercised when buying products that are intended for direct use on the skin”, referring to cosmetics and drugstore articles.
The fact that 3,000 cosmetics have been recalled in Granada alone should give us an idea of the number of this type of product that there must be in large cities such as Madrid, Barcelona or Valencia. And it should also give us good reason to recommend to users/consumers to be aware of the basic regulations for the marketing of this type of product and to be rigorous when choosing their cosmetics.
The second reason why this article has caught our attention is that the Consumer Affairs Service uses, for its regular investigations, the European network of alerts on dangerous goods, i.e. Rapex, The Gabinete Técnico Farmacéutico M. Camps makes weekly reports on it.
The AEMPS published last Thursday 11 February the information note Health guarantees for cosmetic products, which serves as a reminder of what should be good practice in relation to the responsible declaration, manufacture, labelling and advertising, ingredients and composition and notification of cosmetic products. We believe that this document, which also provides data on the actions of the AEMPS on cosmetics between 2013 and 2015, can be a good starting point for keeping up to date with the regulation.
For more information on cosmetics that are withdrawn from the European market through Rapex alerts, you can consult our website or subscribe to our newsletters via the Contact section of the www.mcamps.com