Safety Information

How We Monitor

Our role is to monitor the safety and compliance of cosmetic products, principally through post market surveillance activities. These activities include the establishment of an annual proactive market surveillance plan in conjunction with the Health Services Executive (HSE) where cosmetic products are sampled for analytical testing and review; the monitoring of products reported through the EU rapid alert network (RAPEX) where products presenting a risk to consumers are reported to all EU Member States; the monitoring of products that have lead to serious undesirable effects (SUEs) reported as a result of the new cosmeto-vigilance requirements under Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products.  

We ensure that where a problem with a cosmetic product indicates the need to take corrective and/or preventative measures to ensure consumer safety that the actions are identified and implemented in a timely manner and communicated to all stakeholders, as appropriate. Examples of some corrective actions that may be taken to protect the health of the consumer include, but are not limited to the following:

• A change in usage instructions;
• Updates to product labelling;
• Additional precautions for use;
• Re-formulation;
• Product recall or withdrawal.