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In Europe, cosmetic claims are covered by Article 20 of the Cosmetic Products Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009 (CPR) and Regulation (EU) No. 655/2013 - Common Criteria for Justification of Claims. The six Common Criteria for claims are Legal Compliance, Truthfulness, Evidential Support, Honesty, Fairness, Informed Decision-Making. The European Commission's Technical Document on Cosmetic Claims was updated and agreed by the Commission's Sub-working Group on Claims (3 July 2017). The aim of the document, which is meant to be a collection of best practices, is to provide guidance for the case-by-case application of the Common Criteria.
The Technical Document is not legally-binding and does not reflect an official position of the European Commission. Only the European Court of Justice (ECJ) can give authoritative interpretation. However, it does reflect a common understanding of national competent authorities, several of which have already indicated their intention to apply the guidance given in this document. Annexes I and II (published in 2013) are already being applied; Annexes III and IV are bringing new elements which apply as of 1 July 2019. Annex III looks at how the six Common Criteria apply to 'free-from' claims. This document is also work in progress and subject to modifications.
CTPA has created a Help Note on 'Free from' claims to help companies understand the European Commission's Technical Document on cosmetic claims. The Help Note reviews how the Common Criteria for cosmetic claims also apply to 'free from' claims. This document can be downloaded here.
