Canadian Cosmetics Regulations

Cosmetic products in Canada are defined as "any substance or mixture of substances, manufactured, sold or represented for use in cleansing, improving or altering the complexion, skin, hair or teeth and includes deodorants and perfumes". A Cosmetic Notification Form must be completed within the first 10 days of the sale of any cosmetic product. Following notification, Health Canada may request that evidence of the safety of a product be submitted. The product, its ingredients, claims, and labelling must comply with Canadian regulations for cosmetics.

Canadian Environmental Assessment Regulations

The Government of Canada is currently developing Environmental Assessment Regulations (EARs), which will require cosmetic companies and distributers to seek approval from the Environmental Assessment Unit of Health Canada before new ingredients can be used in products, including cosmetics, regulated under the Food and Drugs Act. New ingredients will be those defined as not being present on the Domestic Substances List (DSL) or the developing In-Commerce List (ICL). Until such time as the EAR take effect, importers and domestic manufacturers of new ingredients in F&DA-regulated products, including cosmetics, are required to comply with the pre-import/pre-manufacture approval requirements of the New Substances Notification (NSN) Regulations of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.

Canadian New Substances Notification (NSN) Regulations

The NSN regulations operate on a tiered system wherein the amount of information required in a notification is directly related to the amount of unlisted ingredient to be introduced into Canada. Government evaluators then determine whether the substance poses an unreasonable risk to the environment and human health.

It is important to note that the notification process is a tiered system requiring subsequent notifications as the annual amount of the imported or manufactured substance increases. Once the highest level notification has been submitted to the government, the assessment period has expired, and the government receives a subsequent notice from the notifier indicating that the notifier has manufactured or imported the substance, then the substance will be eligible for addition to the Domestic Substances List (DSL) provided that no notifier-specific conditions on the import or manufacture of the substance have been imposed as a result of the assessment process.

Our Services

Intertek Cantox has a wealth of experience and readily available experts who can deliver the following services:

• Regulatory Compliance Support
  • Regulatory Strategic Planning and Advice
  • Compliance with the Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist
• Safety Assessments
  • Toxicological Risk Assessments (TRAs)
  • Design/Placement or Waiving of Required Non-Clinical Studies
• Clinical Studies for Claim Substantiation
  • Design, placement, and monitoring
• Product Labelling Review and Support
• Cosmetic Notification Form and NSN Dossier Preparation
  • Administrative/Regulatory Support
  • Exposure Assessment
  • Hazard Assessment
  • Dossier Submission and Stewardship