In the first quarter of 2020, alerts published via the EU’s Rapex consumer alert system led to the recall of 634 items that did not comply with the safety regulations applicable to consumer products in the eurozone.
Within the cosmetics sector, 44 products have been withdrawn, which is a very high figure. In just three months, the number of products withdrawn in the cosmetics category has reached a figure very similar to that of products banned in the same category throughout the previous half-year.
Would you like to know why so many products in our sector were withdrawn in the first quarter of 2020? !Read more!
Rapex Report 1st Quarter 2020
Rapex Report: 1st Quarter 2020 – GTF M. Camps carries out a weekly review of the alerts published by the Rapex system regarding products that pose a risk to EU consumers, with a particular focus on those products – such as cosmetics and tattoo inks – that fall within our areas of regulation.
Articles withdrawn across the EU
The Rapex Report 1st Quarter 2020 It states that a total of 1,140 items were withdrawn from the market – including at borders and customs posts – within the eurozone, at the request of the various national authorities.
Articles withdrawn within the category Cosmetics
- During the first quarter of 2020, a total of 44 products were reported under the ‘Cosmetics’ category in the RAPEX system.
- This is a very high figure, which has been partly exacerbated by the fact that, during January, the authorities in Norway – and some other neighbouring countries – withdrew more than 20 skin-lightening creams.
- The table above shows the information broken down by month.
Cosmetic Products withdrawn by the Rapex System during the 1st Quarter 2020
- It is not always easy to classify the products that are notified correctly. Or, to put it another way, Some products may fall into more than one category. This duplication results, in the Rapex report as a whole, differences in approach amongst the national authorities responsible for issuing notifications. Consequently, we often come across cosmetic products that are incorrectly classified in this respect.
- Although The 100% of items published in the Cosmetics category usually fall within this sector, in some alerts the following may appear more than one item in a single alert (any number: 3, 5, 7, 12…). This means that the recall of 5 items can be reported in a single alert, and the number of items recalled differs slightly from the figures recorded by the Rapex system itself.
- Furthermore, we sometimes come across products that we consider to be cosmetics, but which, for some reason, the national authorities have classified under another category: amongst them, the children's make-up sets, which are mostly marketed as «toys» rather than as cosmetics. Or the adhesives for false nails, which may appear either under «Cosmetics» or within the ‘Chemicals’ category.
- However, we must conclude that, Throughout the first quarter of 2020, the national authorities’ track record has been impeccable. We have not been able to identify any significant differences between the approach taken by the national authorities and that of the experts at GTF M. Camps who drew up the report. We will continue to monitor the situation closely!
Rapex Report for the first quarter of 2020: data on withdrawn tattoo inks
- In the first three months of 2020, a large number of tattoo inks in the eurozone, reaching 15 items withdrawn.
- Most of the tattoo inks The products listed in the report originated in the USA, and were manufactured by the following brands Eternal Ink e Intenze. These are two companies that frequently appear in the «Chemicals» category of the Rapex system, from which we can deduce that the authorities are failing to curb imports of their products.
- Among the reasons for recall, there is often a consensus that the ink either contains ingredients that can cause skin irritation or infections, or contains ingredients considered carcinogenic by the European authorities.
Share of cosmetic articles in total products notified by the Rapex System
The cosmetic articles (6,94%) and the tattoo inks (2,37%) have accounted for more than 9% of Rapex alerts, a very high figure when compared with previous years.
We believe that, in the case of cosmetics, there has been a clear reason for this increase: last January, the Norwegian authorities carried out an inspection of a large number of skin-lightening creams, which led to the withdrawal of more than 20 products of this type.
Also alarming is the number of tattoo inks with carcinogenic ingredients - in most cases, aromatic amines - that have recently been recalled at borders. This is all the more so given that most of these items come from the US, where their use and marketing is permitted.
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