International Cooperation on Cosmetics Regulation (ICCR), Ninth Annual Meeting held in Brussels, Belgium from November 4-6, 2015

The International Cooperation on Cosmetics Regulation (ICCR) held its ninth annual meeting (ICCR-9) on November 04-06, 2015 in Brussels, Belgium. The ICCR is a voluntary international group of cosmetics regulatory authorities from Brazil^{Footnote 1}, Canada, the European Union, Japan and the United States. In 2015, representatives from China, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Thailand participated in the meeting as observers. This group of regulatory authorities meets on an annual basis to discuss common issues on cosmetics safety and regulation, and to enter into a constructive dialogue with their relevant cosmetics industry trade associations. As stated in the Terms of Reference, the purpose of this multilateral framework is to maintain the highest level of global consumer protection, while minimizing barriers to international trade.

As part of this meeting, the regulators entered into a dialogue with cosmetics industry trade associations from each region on November 5, 2015.

Opening remarks were made by Mr. Salvatore D’Acunto (Head of Unit, Health Technology and Cosmetics, European Commission) and Mr. John Chave (Director General, Cosmetics Europe).

Ms Francine Lamoriello (Executive Vice President, U.S. Personal Care Product Council) gave a presentation on the topic of regulatory convergence, which has been highlighted in various international trade agreements.

The following topics were discussed at the meeting:

• Governance
• Alternatives to Animal Testing/In silico/Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) Models
• International Standards
• Microbial Contaminants
• Traces
• Allergens
• Product Preservation

An open stakeholder session was held. Presentations in this session were made by representatives from two special interest groups regarding animal testing.

ICCR-10 will be held in the United States in July 2016.

The following are the outcomes of the meeting:

1. Governance

Taking into consideration industry's ICCR 8 year review presented in July 2014, ICCR regulators reinforced the following three points:

• The focus of ICCR will remain within the purpose as outlined in the Terms of Reference.
• ICCR is not a specific forum for trade issues.
• Steering Committee (SC) will retain the rule of consensus decision-making.

2. Alternatives to Animal Testing/In silico/Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) Models

• Regulators and industry were updated on the past year’s activities of JRC, EURL ECVAM and ICATM^{Footnote 2}.
• Industry proposed a new joint Working Group (WG) for consideration by the SC on integrated methods and approaches for safety assessments of ingredients used in cosmetic products.

3. International Standards

• Industry presented a report entitled “International Standards in Cosmetics”.
• Regulators and Industry agreed to a new joint WG tasked with prioritizing the list of relevant ISO^{Footnote 3} standards to be considered for new work items.

4. Microbial Contaminants

• The joint WG provided an update on work completed to date, as well as next steps.

5. Traces

• The reports on mercury and 1,4-dioxane in cosmetic products are undergoing final review.           
• The SC Chair explained the new process to facilitate the review of future work.
• A request will be made by the SC Chair for new topics for evaluation and a call for new members.

6. Allergens

• The joint WG provided an update on work completed to date, as well as next steps.
• The SC endorsed the recommendations presented in the Allergens II WG Interim Report.

7. Product Preservation

• The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document was accepted and will be posted on the ICCR website after final editing.
• There was agreement to have a communication and outreach plan for the FAQ document, and to consider future tasks on this topic.

8. International Fragrance Association (IFRA)

• IFRA was invited as a guest to present on the IDEA project, and welcomed participation by regulatory authorities and industry on this initiative.