National requirements to place cosmetics on the German market

In Germany, the EU Cosmetics Regulation and “Verordnung über kosmetische Mittel” regulate cosmetic products. The German law sets rules for certain aspects which are not harmonised across the European Union.

Notification and labels requirements for German market

Particularly, some additional national requirements include:

• When Germany is the first EU country of import from a third country and the EU RP is located in Germany, the Responsible Person must notify the local authorities of their importer status before importing the products.
• Samples should be labelled as “Unverkäufliches Muster, nicht zum Verkauf bestimmt” (German for “Free sample – not for sale”), “Nicht zum individuellen Verkauf” (German for “not for individual sale”), or other equivalent phrases.

Moreover, articles 3 and 5 of the Verordnung über kosmetische Mittel specify:

• Cosmetics company located in Germany have to notify the market surveillance authorities about the place where the products are manufactured or about place in the EU where the products are imported (Article 3).
• Labelling of unpacked products must follow the same requirements of packed products. If for practical reasons this is not possible, a label in the immediate vicinity of the cosmetic or container in which the product is offered for sale should display this information. In fact, this Article further enforces the same provisions of the EU Cosmetics Regulation for such products (Article 5).

Penalties and fines apply according to Article 8 of the Verordnung über kosmetische Mittel.

Other applicable laws

The German competent authority lists additional laws which should be taken into account when placing cosmetics on the German market. Some of these laws are:

• Lebensmittel-, Bedarfsgegenstände und Futtermittelgesetzbuch (LFGB), in particular Articles 26 to 29 on prohibitions and authorizations to protect health and protection against deception.
• Law on the placing on the market and provision of measuring instruments, their use, and calibration as well as prepackaged packaging (Measuring and Calibration Act – MessEG).
• Regulation on prepackaged packaging. This law includes, among other things, requirements for manufacturers to correctly label the nominal filling quantity of prepackaged packages.
• Regulation on protection against hazardous substances, relevant for shipping of raw materials and cosmetics.
• Aerosol packaging regulation, which regulates the labelling and safety requirements of aerosol packaging of 50ml and above.

On their website, the German competent authority provides different information on their contact details and responsibilities.

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References:

Bundesministerium der Justiz (2024). Verordnung über kosmetische Mittel. Retrieved on 16/07/2024.

Bundesamt für Verbraucherschutz und Lebensmittelsicherheit (2024). Rechtliche Rahmenbedingungen für Kosmetika. Retrieved on 16/07/2024.