Detergents: Updated EU rules

The European Commission intends to revise Regulation (EC) 648/2004 on Detergents (the so-called “Detergents Regulation”), which governs the sale and use of detergents and surfactants for detergents in the EU. The European Commission is expected to unveil the related proposal in the fourth quarter of 2022. The European Commission’s objective is to address some of the issues that emerged in the 2019 Evaluation of the Detergents Regulation. As part of this process, the European Commission is thus considering the following options: clarifying the scope and definitions of the Regulation (e.g. whether microbial cleaning products are covered by the Regulation); (potentially) adding additional requirements for detergents (e.g. expansion of phosphorus limitations or requirements for certain harmful substances currently not covered by the Detergents Regulation); improving the coherence of the EU regulatory framework for detergents by addressing overlaps and inconsistencies with the REACH, CLP, and Biocidal Products Regulations; and simplifying and streamlining the existing labelling requirements in the Detergents Regulation, incl. in terms of digital labelling. The European Commission is also considering whether, rather than being revised, the Detergents Regulation should be repealed and incorporated in other pieces of EU chemicals legislation. The revision of the Detergents Regulation may thus result in new or different obligations for economic operators. The European Commission is currently seeking stakeholders’ views on the different policy options. For further information, please follow this link.