SAMR Strengthen Supervision on Cosmetics during Institutional Reform Transitional Period

Takehome: SAMR urges provincial authorities to strengthen supervision of cosmetics during the intuitional reform period.

China’s newly formed Food and Drug Administration Bureau, The State Administration for Market Regulation replaced the CFDA. The process of transfer of power is still ongoing and will be conducted in distinct phases. Provincial level reforms are expected to be finished by September to coincide with the release of the “three stipulations”, national reforms by the end of 2018 and local level reform by March 2019.

On June 1st, SAMR released a notice mandating provincial SAMRs to strengthen supervision on cosmetics during this transition period to ensure continuity of operations in China’s cosmetics sector.

The notice indicates that current regulations will remain unchanged until the new provisions are finalized. The following stipulations are effective: 1) the filing/registration approval and inspection of cosmetics still follow the existing rules; 2) the application procedure and the format of documents remain the same. Additionally, regulatory authorities at all levels are required to carry on strict supervision on cosmetic production, circulation and application.

Regarding production, the focus of supervision is on stopping illegal practices including:

• deviation from production compliance requirements;
• enterprises temporarily lowering production standards;
• addition of illegal ingredients.

To ensure comprehensive product lifecycle regulation, emphasis will also be placed on post-market inspection in which provincial SAMRs will increase both routine and random inspections of wholesale markets, product quality and also strengthen adverse reaction monitoring and response systems.

The advertising and promotional activities of enterprises will also be subject to stricter routine inspections and a credit rating system will be established.