On May 19, 2014 the European Commission’s Directorate General Joint Research Center (JRC) published a report on labeling and reporting schemes for nanomaterials used in consumer products in Europe. Nanomaterials already need to be reported in the list of ingredients for cosmetics, food and biocides, for other product types reporting is voluntary. The report stresses that labeling should be considered hazard based, as the presence of nanomaterials does not inherently imply a risk. Registries of products containing nanomaterials are deemed a better approach to nanomaterial application than labeling, as they allow for a better overview of overall exposure. While in the EU such a registry has only been established for cosmetic products, France, Belgium and Denmark are currently establishing wider mandatory reporting schemes. Finally, the JRC report presents an overview of experimental methods allowing the detection of nanomaterials and argues that while claims of presence or absence of nanomaterials should be verifiable, the analysis of complex matrices still requires further scientific advances.

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JRC (May 19, 2014). “New JRC report discusses labelling and reporting schemes for nanomaterials in consumer products in the EU.” 

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