The ICCR is comprised of international regulatory authorities that meet annually with their relevant cosmetics industry trade associations from Canada, the United States, the European Union and Japan and also a variety of other interested stakeholders.
The program was established in 2007 to facilitate international cooperation among regulators of cosmetics to maintain the highest level of global consumer protection while minimizing barriers to international trade.
This new site will serve as an information centre about the ICCR, its meetings and outcomes for easier public access.
“This valuable tool is for all parties who want to stay informed on the important work of the ICCR,” says Darren Praznik, President and CEO of the CCTFA and 2014 Chair of the ICCR Industry Association Caucus.
“It also helps to ensure other regulators are made aware of common approaches in order to maintain the highest level of safety and align regulations for trade.”
In addition to this, regulatory and industry representatives from participating ICCR jurisdictions are actively engaged in working groups throughout the year to address technical and scientific matters.
This year, regulatory agencies representing Brazil and China participated as observers for their second year at ICCR-8. It has been estimated that together, these six jurisdictions represent more than 60% of the world’s current market for cosmetic and personal care products.
A focus on safety
This year’s ICCR meeting was held in Ottawa, Canada in July.
Documents have yet to be revealed from that gathering, but last year a focus was very much on nanomaterial safety and regulations around testing.
The ICCR Joint Regulator-Industry Working Group’s reviewed the existing safety approaches with regard the use of nanomaterials in cosmetics, which sought to identify any specific aspects relevant to consumer safety.
The group concluded that; in general, the existing methods used for toxicological study of conventional materials can be applied, but some methods may need adapting to account for the distinctive physiochemical characteristics and behavior of nanomaterials.