Further Alignment in Swiss and EU Chemical Regulations

SGS, the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company, is reminding stakeholders that Switzerland has further aligned its chemical regulations with European Union (EU) regulations.

 

The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (FoPH), in agreement with the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) and State Secretariate for Economic Affairs (SECO) published Official Collection 2022 1 (RO 2022 1) in January 2022. This amends Switzerland’s Chemical Risk Reduction Ordinance (ORRChem) and further aligns Annex 1.10 with EU requirements by adopting the list of carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic (CMR) category 1A or 1B substances in Regulation (EU) 2021/2204.

 

Annex 1.10 of ORRChem prohibits the use of CMR category 1A and 1B substances that are specified in Appendixes 1 to 6 under entries 28 to 30 of Annex XVII of Regulations (EC) 1907/2006 ‘Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals’ (REACH). The restriction applies when the substance, individually or in mixture, is in a concentration that exceeds the ‘Cut-off Values’ under section 1.1.2.2. in Annex I to Regulation (EC) 1272/2008 ‘Classification, Labeling and Packaging of Substances and Mixtures’ (CLP Regulation).

 

Switzerland also issued Official Collection 2021 927 (RO 2021 947) to revise its Chemicals Ordinance (ChemO), which stipulates the requirements for placing substances and preparations onto the market. The revision expands Switzerland’s Candidate List of substances of very high concern (SVHC) from 211 to 219.

 

Under ChemO Article 71, suppliers are obliged to provide the professional user or distributor of the article with sufficient information, available to the supplier, to allow the safe use of the article if it contains an SVHC on the Candidate List in a concentration of more than 0.1%. Equivalent information must be supplied to a consumer free of charge within 45 days upon request.  

 

Stakeholders should be aware of the following dates:

 

  • February 1, 2022:
  • RO 2022 1 entered into force
  • RO 2021 927 entered into force (requirements for 219 SVHCs became applicable)
  • March 1, 2022 – compliance date for the list of 17 CMR substances specified in the amendment (RO 2022 1)
  • December 17, 2022 – compliance date for CMR substances other than those specified above (RO 2022 1)

 

SGS Chemical Testing

SGS offers a comprehensive range of testing services to help manufacturers and suppliers ensure their products are safe and comply with national and international regulations concerning harmful chemicals. In the end, it’s only trusted because it’s tested. Learn more about SGS Chemical Testing Services.

 

SGS SafeGuardS keep you up to date with the latest news and developments in the consumer goods industry. Read the full Switzerland Further Aligns Chemical Regulations with REACH SafeGuardS.

 

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For further information contact:

 

Dr. HingWo Tsang

Global Information and Innovation Manager

Tel: (+852) 2774 7420

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Website: www.sgs.com/cgnr   

LinkedIn: sgs-consumer-goods-&-retail

 

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