Chemical analyses of consumer products

FAQ

• What does the Product Safety Act say about the content of chemical substances in products?

  According to the Product Safety Act, producers may only sell products if they are safe.

  A product is considered safe when only a limited or acceptable health or safety risk arises when consumers use the product. This includes the health risks related to consumer exposure of any chemical substances contained in the product. For this reason, only a risk assessment – meaning an assessment of the danger and exposure of ingredient substances – can be used to evaluate if any content of chemical substances in a product are in violation with the Product Safety Act.

• Which legal requirements apply to the content of dangerous substances in products?

  A long list of requirements exists relating to the content of chemical substances in products. These requirements limit or prohibit the use of certain substances above a certain concentration within certain products. Some requirements only apply to specific types of products, and some types of products have their own legislative requirements (for example toys).

  Requirements have been set for the content of chemical substances in products, both at the EU and national Danish level. At the EU level a number of restrictions apply to the content of chemical substances within REACH (appendix XVII).

  The Environmental Agency has published a list of laws, declarations etc., which apply to chemicals and products sold in the Danish market. The list can be found here.

• Does REACH also apply to consumer products?

  Yes. REACH contains a number of requirements (restrictions of use) to the content of chemical substances in products.

  Some requirements apply only to specific product types. In addition to this, REACH has the requirement (duty of disclosure) that the trader of all articles (meaning consumer products) must inform about any content of substances of very high concern (substances at the REACH candidate list)

  if asked for by the consumer and if the content of the candidate list substances exceed 0,1% by weight. The trader has 45 days to give the consumer an answer to such an information request.