---
title: "Our cosmetic label misses mandatory information"
description: "Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 lets a cosmetic product be made available only when its container and packaging show, in indelible and legible lettering, the responsible person's name and address, nominal content, date of minimum durability or period after opening, precautions, batch number, function and the ingredient list. The responsible person ensures this; distributors check key items before selling. Correct the label before further sale."
type: "problem"
url: "https://www.conphora.com/solutions/problem/cosmetics-label/"
markdown: "https://www.conphora.com/solutions/problem/cosmetics-label.md"
locale: "en"
language: "en"
updated: "2026-10-05"
author: "Conphora compliance team"
publisher: "Conphora"
source: "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02009R1223-20260518"
tags: ["CosR", "labelling-packaging"]
license: "Free to quote with attribution and a link to the page"
---

# Our cosmetic label misses mandatory information

Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 lets a cosmetic product be made available only when its container and packaging show, in indelible and legible lettering, the responsible person's name and address, nominal content, date of minimum durability or period after opening, precautions, batch number, function and the ingredient list. The responsible person ensures this; distributors check key items before selling. Correct the label before further sale.

## Why this happens

Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 covers any substance or mixture intended for contact with the external parts of the body, the teeth or the mucous membranes of the mouth, mainly to clean, perfume, change the appearance of, protect or keep them in good condition, or to correct body odours (Article 2(1)(a)). It applies from 11 July 2013 (Article 40). The consolidated text used here includes amendments up to Commission Regulation (EU) 2026/909. [1]

Every cosmetic product needs a responsible person in the EU, and only products with one may be placed on the market (Article 4(1)). For EU-made products it is the manufacturer; for imports, each importer is the responsible person for the products it places on the market, unless it designates another EU person by written mandate (Article 4(3)–(5)). A distributor becomes the responsible person when it sells under its own name or trade mark, or modifies a product so that compliance may be affected; translating the label does not count as such a modification (Article 4(6)). The responsible person ensures compliance with the labelling rules in Article 19(1), (2) and (5), among others (Article 5(1)). [1]

Article 19(1) lists what the container and packaging must bear, in indelible, easily legible and visible lettering: the name and address of the responsible person, with the country of origin for imported products; the nominal content by weight or volume; the date of minimum durability, or for products with a durability over 30 months the period after opening; particular precautions, including those required by Annexes III to VI; the batch number or a reference that identifies the product; the function, unless clear from the presentation, which the Court reads as information that lets consumers use the product safely, not merely its purpose (Case C-667/19); and the list of ingredients, which may appear on the outer packaging alone. The ingredient list follows strict rules: descending order of weight, ‘parfum’ or ‘aroma’ for perfume compositions, ‘(nano)’ after nanomaterials and the common ingredient names of the glossary (Article 19(1)(g) and (6)). [1]

Practical limits are foreseen. Where precautions or ingredients cannot be put on the pack, they go on an enclosed or attached leaflet, label, tape, tag or card, referenced, unless impracticable, by abbreviated information or the symbol in point 1 of Annex VII (Article 19(2)); the Court has held that this information may not be placed in a company catalogue referred to by that symbol (Case C-667/19); for soap, bath balls and other small products, the ingredient list may be on a notice next to the container on display (Article 19(3)). The language of the content, durability, precautions and function is determined by the law of the Member State where the product reaches the end user (Article 19(5)). Labels may not imply characteristics or functions the product does not have (Article 20(1)). [1] [3]

Distributors are the second line. Before making a product available, they verify that the responsible person's details, the batch number and the ingredient list are present, that the language requirements are met and that the durability date has not passed (Article 6(2)). Authorities check products in the market through the product information file and laboratory checks (Article 22). Where Article 19 is not complied with, they require the responsible person to correct, withdraw or recall the product within a time limit (Article 25(1)(h)), and they prohibit or withdraw it themselves if that does not happen (Article 25(5)). The cosmetics regulation is also listed in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2019/1020. [1] [2]

## How to solve it

1. **Confirm the responsible person** Only cosmetic products with a responsible person in the EU may be placed on the market. For imports, each importer is the responsible person unless it mandates another EU person in writing. A distributor that sells under its own name or changes the product so that compliance may be affected becomes the responsible person.
2. **Check the label against Article 19(1)** Container and packaging show: the responsible person's name and address, and the country of origin for imports; the nominal content by weight or volume; the date of minimum durability or, for products lasting more than 30 months, the period after opening; precautions for use; the batch number; the function unless clear from the presentation; and the ingredient list. The function must tell consumers how to use the product safely, not only what it is for.
3. **Write the ingredient list correctly** Head it ‘ingredients’ and list the ingredients in descending order of weight at the time they are added; those below 1 % may follow in any order. Use the common ingredient names of the glossary, ‘parfum’ or ‘aroma’ for perfume compositions, and ‘(nano)’ after nanomaterials. Colorants may follow in any order, with the Colour Index names where applicable.
4. **Handle small packs and unpackaged products** If precautions or ingredients cannot fit, put them on an enclosed or attached leaflet, label, tape, tag or card and, unless impracticable, refer to it with abbreviated information or the symbol in point 1 of Annex VII. A company catalogue does not qualify. For soap, bath balls and other small products, the ingredient list may appear on a notice next to the display container. Member States set the rules for products packed at the point of sale.
5. **Use the language each country requires** The nominal content, durability date, precautions and function appear in the language set by the law of the Member State where the product reaches the end user. The ingredient list is not among the items left to national language law; it uses the common ingredient names of the glossary. The rule also applies to online sales into that country (Court of Justice, Case C-88/23).
6. **Notify the original labelling and keep claims honest** When the product is placed on the market, the responsible person notifies the Commission of the original labelling and, where legible, a photograph of the packaging. Texts, names, pictures and signs on the label may not imply characteristics or functions the product does not have.

## What you need to show

- **The final label and packaging artwork for container and outer packaging** — The responsible person (Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 Article 19(1)–(6))
- **The notification to the Commission, including the original labelling** — The responsible person (Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 Article 13(1) and (2))
- **The product information file, with the safety report and proof of claimed effects where justified** — The responsible person, at the address on the label (Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 Article 11(1)–(3))

## If you do nothing

- **Authorities order corrective action** — Where the labelling requirements of Article 19(1), (2), (5) and (6) are not met, the competent authority requires the responsible person to take appropriate measures, including corrective action, withdrawal or recall, within a set time limit (Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 Article 25(1)(h)).
- **Sale can be prohibited** — If the responsible person does not act within the time limit, or a serious risk requires immediate action, the authority prohibits or restricts the product or withdraws or recalls it (Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 Article 25(5)).
- **Distributors must stop selling** — A distributor that has reason to believe a product does not conform must not make it available until it is brought into conformity, and authorities can require distributors to take corrective action (Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 Articles 6(3) and 26).
- **Penalties are set nationally** — Member States lay down effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties for infringements of the regulation (Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 Article 37).

## Questions

### We are a shop. What must we check before selling?

Distributors verify that the responsible person's name and address, the batch number, the ingredient list and the information required under Article 19(3) and (4) are present, that the language requirements are met and that the date of minimum durability has not passed (Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 Article 6(2)).

### Does a product that lasts several years need a ‘best before’ date?

Not if its minimum durability exceeds 30 months. It then shows the period after opening, with the period-after-opening symbol from Annex VII followed by months or years, unless that concept is not relevant (Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 Article 19(1)(c)).

### Does a 3 ml sample need the nominal content?

No. The nominal content is not required for packaging of less than five grams or five millilitres, free samples and single-application packs (Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 Article 19(1)(b)).

### We translate the labels to sell in another country. Are we now the responsible person?

No. Translating information on a product already on the market is not a modification that makes a distributor the responsible person (Article 4(6)). But a distributor that makes the product available in another Member State and translates, on its own initiative, any element of the labelling to comply with national law submits electronically to the Commission the product category, its names in both Member States, the Member State concerned, its own name and address and the responsible person's address where the product information file is kept (Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 Article 13(3)), and updates them if they change (Article 13(7)).

### Can we write ‘not tested on animals’?

Only if the manufacturer and its suppliers have not carried out or commissioned animal tests on the finished product, its prototype or any ingredient, and have not used ingredients tested on animals by others for developing new cosmetics (Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 Article 20(3)).

## Regulations involved

CosR

## Sources

1. [Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products (consolidated text of 18 May 2026)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02009R1223-20260518) — EUR-Lex, 2026-10-04
2. [Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 on market surveillance and compliance of products (consolidated text of 12 August 2026)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02019R1020-20260812) — EUR-Lex, 2026-10-04
3. [Judgment of the Court of 17 December 2020, A.M. v E.M., Case C-667/19 (function of the product, Article 19(2) and company catalogues)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:62019CJ0667) — EUR-Lex, 2026-10-04