Health & Beauty

According to the Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report, since March, the "strings" of relevant leaders of cosmetics companies have become tighter. The "Regulations on the Supervision and Management of Enterprises' Implementation of the Main Responsibilities for the Quality and Safety of Cosmetics" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations") and the "Measures for the Administration of Sampling Inspection of Cosmetics" (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures") have been implemented for more than a week. Industry insiders told China Business Daily that after the implementation of the new regulations, product safety and efficacy have become the "top priority" of enterprises' attention.

Who is responsible for the product is clearer

"For enterprises, the most obvious change is the addition of the position of quality and safety director." Zhang Mei, a relevant person in charge of Guangdong Qianfen Cosmetics Industry Co., Ltd., told reporters, "The person in charge of this position needs more than five years of experience in cosmetics production or quality and safety management. Moreover, if a product has quality and safety issues, the quality and safety director is also the first person to be punished."

The regulations focus on the two key positions of "legal representative" and "person in charge of quality and safety", and clarify relevant work responsibilities, management requirements, operating mechanisms, etc. in accordance with the concept of consistent rights and responsibilities. Among them, it is clear that the legal representative is fully responsible for the quality and safety work of cosmetics, and makes correct decisions on the quality and safety work; The person in charge of quality and safety must possess professional knowledge and ability to effectively perform their duties.

"In the first year of this year, there has been a situation in which quality and safety directors have been investigated in the industry." The relevant person in charge of Guangzhou Saiyin Cosmetics Co., Ltd. admitted to reporters, "Many cosmetics companies have reorganized their personnel and management systems. In terms of personnel recruitment, they have also spent a high cost."

The regulations also point out that enterprises should establish and implement dynamic risk prevention and control management mechanisms such as cosmetics registration and filing information review, production consistency review, batch by batch release of products, causal startup self inspection, and quality management system self inspection based on actual conditions. At the same time, quality and safety principals should be given the veto power in the handling of major risks in product quality and safety, and Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report.

"The work of the person in charge of quality and safety is very cumbersome, requiring the retention of samples of finished products, the inspection of raw materials, and the tracking of product sales records for packaging materials that come into direct contact with cosmetics." Zhang Mei said, "In a short period of time, the person in charge of quality and safety in the cosmetics industry may be in a 'grab' state."

Product sampling inspection is stricter

After the implementation of the method, many well-known brands have been "named", including Paris L'Oreal, Lancome, and Lanzi.

The Measures stipulate that cosmetics manufacturers and operators shall accept the sampling inspection of cosmetics organized and implemented by the responsible drug regulatory department according to law, and shall not interfere, hinder or refuse the sampling inspection work, and shall not provide false information.

The reporter called the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration as a company and said that after the implementation of the new regulations, there are more requirements for the safety and efficacy claims of cosmetics. He hoped that the company could consciously conduct self inspection and comply with relevant regulations.

"Strong regulation is a good thing for the cosmetics industry." The relevant head of the research and development department of a domestic head cosmetics company told reporters, "Before the relevant regulations were introduced, there were a large number of counterfeit and counterfeit products in the cosmetics industry that could not be verified, and the industry needed compliance and strong regulation. With strong regulation, the behavior of enterprises would be more standardized, and the industry would also be safer and more transparent."

It is worth noting that "counterfeit products" cannot be an excuse for unqualified products. Previously, when sampled products were found to be unqualified, relevant enterprises often used reasons such as "counterfeit products" and "denial of production or import" to justify themselves. The measures stipulate that once an enterprise denies production or import, the verification and disposal department will comprehensively judge and issue a review opinion on the authenticity of the sample based on the evidentiary materials submitted by the enterprise and the traceability of the business process, and Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report.

According to the Measures, cosmetic manufacturers and operators of sampled products who have objections to the inspection conclusions may, within seven working days, submit a written application for reinspection to the department conducting the sampling inspection or the department responsible for drug supervision and management at the next higher level. The application for reinspection of the same sample is limited to one time.

In the face of unqualified products in the spot check, the relevant responsible persons of Schwarzkopf, Blue Moon, and L'Oreal stated that the unqualified products identified were counterfeit products. Re-inspection applications for subsequent products.

Online and offline synchronous supervision

Several insiders said that the introduction of regulations and measures will further promote the development of high-quality domestic cosmetics in China, while some imported cosmetics, domestic small and medium-sized cosmetics enterprises, and cutting-edge brands may face elimination. In addition, for cosmetics companies, the requirements for online cosmetics sales will be more stringent.

The method emphasizes that online sampling should simulate the online shopping process, and the sampling personnel should not inform the sampled cosmetics manufacturer or operator of the purchase purpose. It is worth noting that in January and February of this year, the State Food and Drug Administration has successively notified 60 batches of unqualified products, of which 10 batches were sampled from online platforms such as Tmall, Taobao, Pinduoduo, Little Red Book, Kwai and Westore.

"Previously, consumers purchased cosmetics online, and the prices of products from the same brand were different, as were the names of stores that sold them." Zhang Mei said, "In the future, brands or stores that sell their own products will be more 'vigilant', and they will first conduct self inspection and self correction to distinguish which are the real distribution channels and which are counterfeit products."

Many relevant enterprises are strengthening their learning of the new regulations. Li Yuting said that before the implementation of the new regulations, enterprises were already studying the draft solicitation of opinions related to the new regulations. The research and development cycle of cosmetics such as children's cosmetics, special cosmetics, and cosmetics using new materials has become longer, and enterprises pay special attention to the quality and efficacy of their products. For enterprises, it is also more prudent to import cosmetics raw materials from overseas, because if there is a problem, it is still the enterprise and the brand itself that will suffer. Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation reports.

Luo Wenqin, CEO of Tianqin Brand Consulting, said that the introduction of measures and regulations will benefit the entire industry in the long term, eliminating some small-scale enterprises that do not attach importance to research and development from the industry, and creating opportunities for some high-quality enterprises. In addition, in the current environment of the rise of social e-commerce in the cosmetics industry, the restrictions imposed by the new regulations on live streaming e-commerce will be more obvious. The subsequent related testing costs will also lead to an increase in the cost of developing products, which may lead to price increases for some cosmetics brands, as reported by Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation.