The European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) Enforcement Forum has announced two major projects to ensure compliance with regulations for products sold online. The first project, called REACH-EN-FORCE (REF)-13, will involve inspections in 2025 to check if products such as toys, household goods, and chemicals sold online meet REACH restrictions. Inspectors will also verify that mixtures are properly classified, labeled, and packaged according to the Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation. Compliance with other regulations, such as the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Regulation and the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive, may also be assessed.
The REF-8 project revealed that a significant percentage of mixtures and articles sold online violated REACH restrictions, with 78% failing to meet the necessary conditions. The upcoming project will benefit from stricter rules for online sales, such as the Digital Services Act and General Product Safety Regulation, which are expected to enhance enforcement efforts.
The second project, known as the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPRS), will focus on the correct labeling of biocidal products. Inspectors will ensure that the information on product labels aligns with the authorized details included in the Summary of Product Characteristics. They may also assess the presence and quality of information in Safety Data Sheets for biocidal products.
Both the REF-13 and BPRS projects will be prepared in 2024, with inspections planned for 2025, and reports expected to be published in 2026. Additionally, during the meeting, new chairs and vice chairs were elected for the Forum and its biocides subgroup. Henrik Hedlund (SE) will serve as the Forum chair, while Katja vom Hofe (DE) and Maria Orphanou (CY) will be the vice chairs. Helmut de Vos (BE) was elected as the chair of the biocides subgroup, alongside Jenny Karlsson (SE) and Eugen Anwander (AT) as vice chairs.
Full article:
https://echa.europa.eu/sk/-/new-eu-chemicals-enforcement-project-to-focus-on-products-sold-online
Ekotox Centers REACH webpages: https://ekotox.eu/reach-regulation/