Switzerland: Federal Council Seeks to Forbid Cosmetics Tested on Animals

According to information provided by the Swiss Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO), a law to prohibit cosmetics tested on animals can be expected this year. That’s when the Federal Council will decide on a revised version of the law on food. Plans call for banning from the market all cosmetics that contain ingredients tested on animals – an approach similar to that taken by the European Union.

In the past, the EU limited animal testing in steps. In 2004, animal testing was forbidden for finished cosmetic end products. Five years later, animal testing was prohibited for individual cosmetic ingredients. As of March 2013, a comprehensive law has forbidden cosmetic companies from performing animal testing to inspect products or ingredients themselves and from contracting with others to perform such tests. The law also prohibits marketing within the EU or cosmetics tested abroad on animals.

More and more countries are implanting bans on animal testing with cosmetics. At the end of November 2015, South Korea approved a law that goes into effect in 2018. Turkey has prohibited the sale of cosmetics if they contain ingredients tested on animals. However, it applies only if the experiments took place after alternative methods were known to the EU or the OECD.

Do you have questions about the legal security of your products? Please contact us at cosmetic@kft.de.

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