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--- algae:cosmetics [2026-06-26 05:35] – [The Cosmetics Regulation] robert
+++ algae:cosmetics [2026-06-26 09:06] (current) – [Cosmetics and Personal Care Products] robert
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 ===== Cosmetics and Personal Care Products =====
-!FIXME!
 Algae and algal extracts are among the most widely used plant- and marine-derived ingredients in cosmetics and personal care products, serving as active ingredients, humectants, thickeners, colourants and film-formers. The EU cosmetics regulatory framework is entirely separate from food and feed law — managed by different competent authorities, with its own safety assessment and notification system — and applies in full to any product making contact with the external surfaces of the human body with the principal purpose of cleaning, perfuming, changing appearance, protecting, or correcting body odours.
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 This is the single, directly applicable EU Regulation governing cosmetics. Unlike food law, which relies on a mix of framework regulations and sectoral directives, cosmetics are governed by one consolidated Regulation applicable identically across all member states. It covers the full lifecycle of a cosmetic product from pre-market safety assessment through to labelling, post-market surveillance and notification.
+There is a good list of relevant regulation and guidelines on the [[https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/sectors/cosmetics/legislation_en|Single EU market site]].
 __Relevance to algae:__ Any cosmetic product containing an algal ingredient — seaweed extract, spirulina powder, algal oil, carrageenan, agar, algae-derived colourant — is subject to this Regulation. The Regulation does not establish a positive authorisation list for cosmetic ingredients generally (unlike food additives), but:
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 === Good Manufacturing Practice ===
-Commission Regulation (EU) No 655/2013 of 10 July 2013 laying down common criteria for the justification of claims used in relation to cosmetic products, OJ L 190, 11.7.2013, p. 31.
-Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) for cosmetics is defined by the standard EN ISO 22716:2007 (and its European adoption EN ISO 22716:2007), which is the reference standard cited in the Cosmetics Regulation. GMP compliance is an obligation for manufacturers, not merely a voluntary quality standard.
+Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) for cosmetics is defined by the standard [[https://www.iso.org/standard/36437.html|ISO 22716:2007]] (and its European adoption EN ISO 22716:2007), which is the reference standard cited in the Cosmetics Regulation. GMP compliance is an obligation for manufacturers, not merely a voluntary quality standard.
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 ==== Cosmetic Claims — the Claims Regulation ====
-Commission Regulation (EU) No 655/2013 of 10 July 2013 laying down common criteria for the justification of claims used in relation to cosmetic products, OJ L 190, 11.7.2013, p. 31.
+Commission Regulation (EU) No 655/2013 of 10 July 2013 laying down common criteria for the justification of claims used in relation to cosmetic products, OJ L 190, 11.7.2013, p. 31. [[https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32013R0655|EURlex]]
 __Relevance to algae:__ Claims made for cosmetic products — whether about the product's efficacy ("firms and lifts", "reduces the appearance of fine lines"), its composition ("contains X% marine algae extract"), or its character ("natural", "sustainable", "organic") — must satisfy six common criteria: legality, truthfulness, evidential support, honesty, fairness, and informed decision-making. Cosmetic "organic" or "natural" claims, which are commercially significant for algae-derived cosmetics, are not governed by the same Regulation (EU) 2018/848 that applies to food and feed; they are instead subject to private certification standards (notably COSMOS-standard for organic and natural cosmetics) and the general truthfulness requirement of the claims Regulation.