Major U.S. Cosmetic Firms Say They Are Ready For Animal Test Ban In EU
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
The EU's upcoming ban on products tested on animals could affect the availability of some novel cosmetic ingredients, though it is unlikely to have a jarring impact on large U.S. personal-care marketers
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EU Panel Confirms Animal-Alternative Tests Will Miss 2013 Deadline
A panel of scientific experts says full replacement of animal tests with non-animal alternatives is not possible by the 2013 deadline set under the Seventh Amendment to the European Cosmetics Directive.
EU phasing in animal testing ban
The European Union's phased ban on animal testing went into effect March 11. The measures, which ban testing on animals to assess the safety of cosmetic ingredients and will eventually ban the sale of cosmetics containing ingredients tested on animals, were enacted in 2003 with the intention of going on-line this year. The animal-tested products ban has been pushed back to March 2013 to allow time for scientific progress in the development of in vitro alternatives. The European Commission will assess the state of the science in 2011. The ban represents a "tremendous scientific challenge" for industry, according to the European Cosmetics Association (Colipa); however, "our industry's commitment to replacing animal testing stretches back long before bans were put in place. We play a leading role in the development of new alternative methods and will continue to work together with other key partners, in order to move towards the goal of replacing animal testing completely," says Colipa Director-General Bertil Heerink. Industry has launched a joint research initiative with the European Commission to develop alternative testing strategies, Colipa says. According to the Personal Care Products Council, major U.S. firms are prepared for the ban (1"The Rose Sheet" June 9, 2008, p. 3)