In order to enable consumers to better understand the relevant content requirements of the "Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Toothpaste", promote the further standardized development of the toothpaste production and operation industry, and promote the continuous and stable improvement of the level of national oral health, on December 18, the press conference on the implementation of the "Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Toothpaste" sponsored by the China Oral Cleaning and Care Products Industry Association was held in Beijing. The meeting focused on the implementation of the "Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Toothpaste" and the introduction and interpretation of key laws and regulations.
The standard system provides an effective guarantee for the industry.
Xiang Jianqiang, chairman of the China Oral Cleaning and Care Products Industry Association and director of the National Oral Care Products Standardization Technical Committee, said that industry organizations attach great importance to the quality and safety of toothpaste products, and have successively promulgated and implemented a number of self-discipline documents, covering toothpaste and its main upstream and downstream products. "At present, there are 24 national standards, 67 industry standards and 23 group standards in the toothpaste industry, and an industry standard system has been initially formed, which provides a reliable and effective guarantee for the quality and safety of toothpaste products. Xiang Jianqiang said that during the period, the supervision of toothpaste products has also made some adjustments, such as in 2005, the former General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China included toothpaste in the management of production licenses;In 2008, the management of toothpaste labeling was included in the scope of cosmetics.
Intensify market supervision.
According to Xiang Jianqiang, according to the "Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Toothpaste", on September 25, 2023, the State Food and Drug Administration issued the "Announcement on Implementing the Toothpaste Regulatory Regulations and Simplifying the Requirements for Filing Materials for Listed Toothpaste" (No. 124 of 2023) (hereinafter referred to as the "Announcement"), which explained the implementation of the requirements of the regulatory requirements for toothpaste and the simplification of the requirements for the filing materials of marketed toothpaste products. The "Announcement" clarifies that the content of the label of the toothpaste product for simplified filing shall comply with the requirements of the Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Cosmetics, the Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Toothpaste and the Measures for the Administration of Cosmetics Labeling, and if only the format of the label needs to be standardized and adjusted, the sales packaging label that has been listed can be used when simplifying the filing, and the product label update shall be completed as required before July 1, 2024. This means that toothpaste products that meet the requirements can continue to use the sales packaging labels that have been marketed until July 1, 2024, and enterprises can continue to consume the packaging materials in stock during the transition period, and should also upload and publish a summary of the basis for product efficacy claims through the filing platform before December 1, 2025.
At the same time, on September 25, 2023, the State Food and Drug Administration issued the "Provisions on the Administration of Toothpaste Filing Materials (Draft for Comments)" for public comment, and on the basis of sorting out and adopting reasonable opinions, the "Provisions on the Management of Toothpaste Filing Materials" was officially issued on November 22, clarifying a series of specific requirements for the filing of toothpaste products. At this point, the regulatory model of toothpaste has been formally established (although some supplementary guidance documents may be issued later, but the specific model has been determined), and the filing of toothpaste has been officially implemented on December 1.
Key features of the new regulatory model for toothpaste include focused and comprehensive regulation;Take care of the actual development of the industry;Guarantee a smooth transition in the industry. Xiang Jianqiang emphasized that the implementation of the new regulatory model of toothpaste is a milestone event in the industry, especially in the current situation of rapid increase in small and micro enterprises in the industry and continuous expansion of online sales, which has a positive effect on the comprehensive standardization and high-quality development of the industry.
Ensure safety, clarify responsibility, and promote development.
At the meeting, Gao Wenying, deputy secretary-general of China Oral Cleaning and Care Products Industry Association and doctor of the Department of Chemistry of Tsinghua University, interpreted the "Regulations on the Management of Toothpaste Filing Materials" with the theme of "Ensuring Safety, Responsibility, and Promoting Development".
Gao Wenying said that the State Food and Drug Administration issued the "Announcement" in September 2023, making it clear that before the official implementation of the "Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Toothpaste", the toothpaste products sold on the market already have a certain history of production, sales and use.
Regarding the efficacy evaluation of toothpaste, the "Announcement" also gives clear scientific guidance, requiring that the efficacy claim of toothpaste should have sufficient scientific basis, and the filing person shall carry out efficacy evaluation as required on the basis of ensuring product safety, and the evaluation methods are generally divided into human evaluation methods and other evaluation methods. The filing materials should have a summary of the efficacy claim evaluation prepared based on the efficacy evaluation results.
The product safety assessment requirements of the Regulations on the Administration of Toothpaste Filing Materials fully reflect the State Food and Drug Administration's understanding of the industry and the in-depth consideration of the applicability of the method. Considering that toothpaste has no previous filing history, enterprises are encouraged to actively collect and confirm the safe use history of relevant raw materials of products that have been listed, and sort out the industry's "Catalogue of Raw Materials Used in Toothpaste", which to a certain extent provides a basis for the safety evaluation of toothpaste products in the entire industry and reduces the burden of product safety evaluation for each enterprise alone. Gao Wenying pointed out that the State Food and Drug Administration made it clear that in view of the scientific requirements and the urgency of time, the "Catalogue of Raw Materials Used in Toothpaste" will be a dynamic catalogue, and the relevant regulatory authorities will first collect and publish the basic raw materials common to the industry, and gradually expand the raw materials with a history of safe use and sufficient scientific basis. Therefore, the use of raw materials by enterprises is not limited to the first batch of raw materials to be announced, at the same time, it should be emphasized that the toothpaste raw materials in the oral products industry have been implementing the national standard GB-22115 "Specification for Raw Materials for Toothpaste", therefore, the current available range of toothpaste raw materials, as well as the catalog of prohibited and restricted raw materials, have laws to follow, and consumers can use and purchase with confidence.
Maintain a good atmosphere in the industry.
How much do consumers know about toothpastes on the market?As the first responsible person, how to implement the "Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Toothpaste"?
In this regard, Xu Chunsheng, deputy director of the Science and Technology Working Committee of China Oral Cleaning and Care Products Industry Association, president of Guangzhou Dental Doctor Oral Care Research Institute, deputy general manager and chief engineer of Guangzhou Qiancai Cosmetics, said that the new regulations have promoted the development of the toothpaste industry to be more standardized, the products are safer, the efficacy is more scientific, and the competition is more orderly, which has greatly improved consumers' attention to toothpaste products. However, from a practical point of view, there are still many misunderstandings in the public's understanding of toothpaste, which affects consumers' correct understanding and choice of toothpaste.
Xu Chunsheng suggested that the supporting documents of the new regulations need to be further supplemented and improved, and the filing and review standards for toothpaste products need to be unified. In this regard, enterprises should actively report to the State Food and Drug Administration through industry associations to jointly promote the standardized and healthy development of the toothpaste industry.
Regarding the classification and claim of toothpaste, the relevant sales platforms and consumers should also be aware of it. Gao Wenying pointed out that the "Regulations on the Administration of Toothpaste Filing Materials" clarifies the classification of the efficacy claims of toothpaste in different user groups: first, the toothpaste used by the general population can be claimed: cleaning, anti-caries, anti-dentin sensitivity, plaque inhibition and alleviation of gum problems;Second, children's toothpaste refers to the toothpaste that is claimed to be suitable for children under the age of 12 (including 12 years old), and the efficacy categories that can be claimed by children's toothpaste are limited to cleaning and caries prevention.
Xiang Jianqiang said that the China Oral Cleaning and Care Products Industry Association attaches great importance to the new regulatory model of toothpaste and will continue to maintain this work to ensure the smooth implementation of the new regulatory model. At the same time, actively promote the scientific nature of the new regulatory model of toothpaste and the role of promoting the standardization of the industry, so that consumers can have a comprehensive and correct understanding of toothpaste products and use toothpaste products scientifically with confidence. It is hoped that more consumers will understand the specific policies for the filing of toothpaste products, understand the rationality and necessity of the market transition of listed toothpaste products, and support the smooth transition of the industry. The association also calls on everyone to jointly supervise and report the crackdown on the illegal production and sale of toothpaste manufacturers and operators who declare in violation of regulations, maintain the good atmosphere of the industry market, and promote the sustainable and healthy development of the industry.
China**Jiangsu Reporter Station Cangwei).
*: China**Net.