Under current law, FDA cannot require cosmetic facilities to register, but FDA does allow these facilities to do so voluntarily through the Voluntary Cosmetic Registration Program (VCRP).  Once a company registers, FDA assigns a registration number to each manufacturing establishment.  The VCRP also allows for the filing of a cosmetic product ingredient statement for each product the firm has entered into commercial distribution in the United States. Under the FFDCA, FDA has authority to inspect cosmetic manufacturing facilities.

One organization important to the safety of cosmetics is the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR).  According to FDA, the CIR expert panel “is an independent, industry-funded panel of medical and scientific experts that meets quarterly to assess the safety of cosmetic ingredients based on data in the published literature as well as some that is voluntarily provided by the cosmetic industry.  The industry data may or may not be complete.  FDA takes the results of CIR reviews into consideration when evaluating safety, but the results of FDA safety assessments may differ from those of CIR.”  FDA representatives do attend CIR meetings in a non-voting capacity.

In recent years, some States have considered legislation that would affect the ingredients that can be used in cosmetic products.  Some groups have called for national standards for ingredients of cosmetic products that are reviewed by the FDA.  Given the flow of cosmetic products between States, a uniform standard for cosmetic ingredients would serve to further public health by ensuring these decisions are made using sound science and ensure that the interstate flow of cosmetic products is not disrupted by differing State standards.

The FDA’s resources devoted to cosmetics have increased significantly in recent years.In Fiscal Year 2007, the cosmetic activities at FDA received $3.5 million in funding.  In Fiscal Year 2012, the funding increased to $11.2 million.

III. Conclusion

Should you have any questions regarding the hearing, please contact Clay Alspach or Ryan Long at (202) 225-2927.

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