At the 13th edition of the regulatory congress held last November 18-19 in Chartres, France, the cosmetics market supervisory authorities came to make an update on their actions since 2014, the first full calendar year since the Cosmetics Regulation came into force. The DGCCRF spoke first, and presented the first results of its investigation on the use of claims, which must be transmitted to the European Commission before the end of 2015.
After putting things straight about the role and organization of the DGCCRF (French General Directorate for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs, and Fraud Control) and ANSM (French National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety), the two cosmetics market surveillance and control authorities (see our article on this issue, Supervisory authorities: what they are…and what they are not ), Raphaëlle Bove, Director of the Health and Cosmetics Office of the DGCCRF, first reminded of the specific missions of its services, which cover not only product and service safety, but also the competitive regulation of markets (detection of anti-competitive or restrictive business practices, in particular between manufacturers and distributors), and consumer protection (control of price displays and of the claims made).
What the DGCCRF does
A national investigation plan is set up for all the sectors the DGCCRF is in charge of. As for cosmetics, it was decided in 2014 to renew a global inspection plan on an annual basis for all product types and all players throughout the chain, from manufacturers to final distributors. In addition, there are thematic or punctual inspections defined according to the different warnings, consumer complaints, or reports on the cosmetovigilance system.
In parallel, the DGCCRF carries …
