Latvia bans 59 cosmetic products over safety violations

Latvia's Health Inspectorate (VI) took decisive action last year, prohibiting the sale of 59 cosmetic products found to have significant violations. This measure highlights ongoing concerns about product safety and regulatory compliance within the cosmetics market, particularly concerning online sales.

In a thematic check of online cosmetic sales, the VI evaluated 59 companies and found non-compliance in 260 out of 321 assessed products, representing 82% of the evaluated online offerings. Common deficiencies included the absence of mandatory information in Latvian, such as details about the responsible person, product identification, usage warnings, and safety instructions. Furthermore, 77 instances involved discrepancies in product advertising claims. The inspectorate noted that businesses continue to demonstrate insufficient understanding of the new requirements and specific legal regulations for online trade.

The most serious violations, accounting for 24 cases, were related to non-compliant product composition, specifically the detection of substances prohibited by European Union regulations. Other critical issues included expired products (10 cases), deficiencies or lack of safety reports (8 cases), and missing batch numbers (5 cases). The VI also identified other non-conformities, such as the absence of a responsible person or products not meeting test results. In total, 1182 products from 148 companies were inspected, with 418 products showing rectifiable issues and 59 products banned due to significant infringements. The inspectorate plans to persist in its oversight of the e-commerce environment and online platform checks, while also informing businesses about the necessary requirements for offering cosmetic products online.