Filling cosmetic products on the manufacturing line may seem to be just an ordinary step, taken care of by the subcontractor alone. But controlling this step is required legally, and it is a tricky subject since it can have consequences on brand image, even though the packager is solely responsible. On 2 February 2015, FEBEA (France’s Federation of Beauty Companies) held a conference session to raise awareness about breaches (which are rather numerous), review the regulatory framework, and go over the technical solutions. This is our report
FEBEA Director of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs Anne Dux opened the debates by reminding us that controlling product filling is important on several levels.
• First of all, there is the promise made to the consumer: when a label claims that the container holds 50 ml of product, there better well be 50 ml. This can also be subject to inspection.
• Proper filling can also save money: it is not always possible to top off insufficiently filled containers, which must be disposed of as a result. And when product is overflowing from the container, the result is the same: a dead loss.
• Finally, filling controls are often a requirement of the principal and are linked to a specific regulatory framework.
Anne Dux concluded that ‘
Proper filling is a quality requirement,
’ and she added that companies can choose the manner in which they proceed to accomplish it.
A requirement that often falls on deaf ears
Next, the floor was given to Michel Guerrier, Departmental Director of the Seine-Maritime DGCCRF (General Directorate for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs, and Fraud Control). He began with relatively positive observations and provided details on the rates of non-compliance with metrological controls over …
