Patrokles QA Manager recommends that importers and retailers start to collect and manage SVHC Information to meet REACH obligations and avoid penalties – now.
Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals, or REACH, is a European Union legislation that aims to improve the protection of human health and the environment from the risks that can be posed by chemicals, while enhancing the competitiveness of the EU chemicals industry.
Under REACH, when requested, retailers are obliged to provide relevant information on SVHC and the safe use of an article within 45 days if the SVHC concentration in their articles is more than 0.1 % of their weight.
In 2017, Germany co-sponsored the AskREACH project with 20 partners from 13 EU member states, to build a mobile phone application linked to a database that enable consumers to check for information on SVHC.
Through the app, consumers can obtain information concerning SVHC in products they have an interest in from a central database, and if there is no information in the database, the app will automatically send requests to suppliers for SVHC information.
The APP aims to raise awareness of SVHC risks and allow consumers to know whether any SVHC contents are present prior to purchase.
Several EU member states have already begun testing the app in the market, with field testers visiting stores, scanning product barcodes and sending SVHC investigation requests to businesses. The initial release date is August 2019 but recently had been postponed to October 2019.
By the end of 2018, approximately 100 manufacturers in the EU had been surveyed under this project, and more than half had failed to provide adequate information on SVHCs in its products.
Is your non-food consumer goods business prepared to respond to these “Right to Know” requests?
Patrokles QA Manager – Quality Assurance Done Right
We have recognised that managing all aspects of product compliance, including collecting and managing SVHC information under REACH, requires not just domain knowledge but also a dedicated software solution to streamline day to day activities that quickly spiral out of control if shared file storage, spreadsheets and email are the only tools at your disposal.