The tricky rules for Treated Articles: A market survey Ulrike Frank

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1 The tricky rules for Treated Articles: A market survey Ulrike Frank CA-Meeting 11. May 2017

2 Content Market survey on articles treated with biocides Treated goods on the market Labelling requirements Information rights Member States differences

3 Differentiation between TA/BP If the treated article has a primary biocidal function, it is a Biocidal product! If the treated article is a mixture and has a biocidal function, it is a Biocidal product!

4 What is not a treated article? If the treated article contains leftovers from a production process, the biocidal function was only needed for the production process, and the function does not exist any more, it is Out of Scope (i.e. not regulated by the BPR) Note: This is an interpretation made in the Q & A guidance document

5 What are the obligations for treated articles? When articles are treated with biocides, only for the purpose approved active substances may be used Consumers have to be provided on request with the information about the biodical treatement of the article If a claim is made To label the product with information on the active substance, what biocidal property the article has, instructions for use, precautonary measures, etc.

6 Market survey on articles treated with biocides (: PM 6/16) Scope: To find out whether the provisions for treated articles are followed by market participants 1. Which biocide-treated goods are on the market? 2. Are they labelled correctly if a claim is made? 3. Is information to consumers given on request? 4. Do Member States Competent Authorities agree how to interpret the rules?

7 1. Which biocide treated goods are on the market? Internet survey: only treated goods with a claim could be found. Silent treatment remained undiscovered Search in the Swedisch product register (which only contains mixtures): All products were identified which contained a biocidal active substance Contact with trade organisations to find out what biocides are common in their market segment

8 1. Which biocide treated goods are on the market? We did not reach our goal to find out more about silently treated goods trade organisations were not a very good source of information (within the time frame we had) Product register only gave limited information about mixtures. Not all active substances contained were added with a biocidal purpose (e.g. ethanol) We were already aware from previous surveys that there are many goods with claims on the market

9 2. Are the TA labelled correctly if a claim is made? We looked at 66 articles with a biocidal claim Only in 1/4 of the cases the label informed about the active substance kind of In most cases the mentioned substance was silver, nano-silver or silver-ions (only 3 exemptions) All other required information was lacking In one case the TA was a biocidal product (treated mosquito net)

10 3. Is information to consumers given on request? 45 articles selected, all were provided via internet-shops Request sent to retailer or producer, depending on who was the supplier After 45 days 16 suppliers (36%) replied only with a standard mail (thank you for your inquiry.) 16 suppliers (36%) did not reply In 72% no information about biocidal treatement was given

11 3. Is information to consumers given on request? 16 suppliers answered with information 13 of them (29% of the total) provided a description of the biocidal treatment, 4 out of the 13 made a statement that no biocidal active substance was used but other methods to reach the biocidal effect (4 cases)

12 3. Is information to consumers given on request? The suppliers listed the following active substances used in the treated articles selected: Silver (toilet seat, floor tiles, light switch, water reservoir) Silver, magnesium, aluminium, phosphorous complex (toilet seat) Silver zirconium phosphate (pocket calculator) Zinc (toilet seat) Tea tree oil (pet shampoo)

13 Do Member States Competent Authorities agree how to interpret the rules? Example given 1 Toilet brush for cleaning of toilets 2 Shampoo for treatment of cats and dogs 3 Cloth for cleaning of different glass surfaces 4 A series of antimicrobial packaging products for food 5 Antibacterial microfiber finger toothbrush for dogs Claim "antibacterial and antimicrobial" "antibacterial effect" "Removes up to 98% of bacteria on touchscreens" anti-microbial Packaging "antibacterial"

14 Do Member States Competent Authorities agree how to interpret the rules? Example given Claim 6 Horse blanket "insect repellant" 7 Antibacterial cases for contact lenses 8 Different shirts, shorts, trousers 9 Cleansing wipe which removes dirt, oils, filler, sealants, glue, etc. from different surfaces "antibacterial" "mosquito repellent" kills 99,99 % of all bacteria 10 Anti-mold paint durable protection against mould and fungus

15 Do Member States Competent Authorities agree how to interpret the rules? The following MS competent authorities replied: Norway Germany Slovenia Luxembourg Estonia Finland Switzerland (three different authorities gave each their different statement) Belgium Sweden

16 Do Member States Competent Authorities agree how to interpret the rules? Example given Claim Results 1 Toilet brush for cleaning of toilets 2 Shampoo for treatment of cats and dogs 3 Cloth for cleaning of different glass surfaces "antibacterial and antimicrobial" "antibacterial effect" "Removes up to 98% of bacteria on touchscreens" BP: 1 TA: 9 BP: 3 (+1) OoS: 5 BP: 1 (+1) TA: 2 (+1) OoS: 4 4 A series of antimicrobial packaging products for food 5 Antibacterial microfiber finger toothbrush for dogs anti-microbial Packaging BP: 3 TA: 7 "antibacterial" TA: 9

17 Do Member States Competent Authorities agree how to interpret the rules? Example given Claim Results 6 Horse blanket "insect repellant" BP: 8 TA: 1 7 Antibacterial cases for contact lenses 8 Different shirts, shorts, trousers "mosquito repellent" 9 Cleansing wipe which removes dirt, oils, filler, sealants, glue, etc. from different surfaces "antibacterial" BP: 2 TA: 7 OoS: 1 kills 99,99 % of all bacteria 10 Anti-mold paint durable protection against mould and fungus BP: 1 TA: 10 BP: 6 TA: 3 BP: 1 TA: 8

18 Impact for industry The same article can be regarded as BP in one MS and as TA in another leads to market distortions A huge difference in costs for marketing a product arises if one company has to go through an authorisation process, while another is able to place the product on the market directly The lack of certainty may motivate suppliers to make unclear claims or under cover claims

19 Consequences Authorities need to be more proactive with information about the requirements for treated articles e.g. Kemi Facts: Articles treated with biocides 1 e.g. Swiss BAG: Obligation d informer concernant les articles incorporant des produits biocides 2 Common interpretation needs to be promoted by decisions according to Art. 3(3) BPR Enforcement campaigns need to be carried out to support compliance with labelling rules

The tricky rules for Treated Articles: Ulrike Frank

The tricky rules for Treated Articles: Ulrike Frank Biocides Stakeholder s Day, Helsinki 26.-27. September 2017 Content What is a treated article and what is not? Obligations connected with treated articles