Regulatory Context
Unlike Europe and Australia, an official regulatory process has not yet been established for a company to be allowed to sell cosmetic products in New Zealand. However, despite this fact, it’s still important for cosmetic products to have compliance before being sold on the NZ market, as official inspections and product controls are conducted by the authorities.
The regulation applied in New Zealand is similar to the EU legislation (link). The specifics of claims regulation and nanomaterials are the same, and cosmetic products sold in New Zealand must also comply with IFRA standards.
BIORIUS ensures compliance of cosmetic products with the New Zealand Group Standards for Cosmetics.
How does it work?
The regulatory revision consists of a formula review and a label & claims review.
Formula Review
Assessment of the formula according to the standards established in the regulations.
BIORIUS’ experts review the categorization of a product to ensure that it can be considered a cosmetic.
Next, they proceed to a toxicological analysis to verify the formula’s safety.
Finally, they check the ingredients according to the HSNO New Zealand.
Upon completion of this step, a formula review report is issued, which includes expert conclusions (categorization of the product, toxicological analysis & ingredients review).
Label & Claims Review
Evaluation of the product label (ingredients list, symbols, legal requirements, etc.) and claims substantiation.
Strategic recommendations are provided for updating the label.
The labels and claims review consist of a report containing all the information that must appear on the labeling material:
- Required elements
- Presence of required elements (primary packaging, secondary packaging & leaflet)
- Final INCI list
- Claims
- Conclusion of each claim
- Expert comments – strategic recommendations are provided for label updates
Specific Product Categories
Generally speaking, New Zealand operates like the European Union for specific product categories.
CBD products
CBD products are allowed in New Zealand under certain conditions:
- Flowering or fruiting tops of the cannabis plant (excluding the seeds and leaves when not accompanied by the tops) from which the resin has not been extracted, by whatever name they may be designated, are forbidden.
- “Hemp leaf oil” and “Hemp seed oil” are allowed if the THC content does not exceed 0.2% of the raw materials.
