Importing cosmetics to Norway
The Norwegian legislation is nearly identical to the European cosmetics regulation, EU Regulation No. 1223/2009. There are only a few exceptions.
Notification
Norwegian importers and producers of cosmetics are obliged to fill in a form to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority to register their Norwegian firm/business. To register, the firm has to have a Norwegian business address.
Labeling
We have national requirements when it comes to language (§ 4). Information according to article 19 (1) (d) and (f) in EC regulation 1223/2009 shall be in Norwegian. The products referred to in Article 19 (2), (3) and (4) shall also be labeled in Norwegian. This requirement will come into force 11.07.2014. Information given in article 19 (1) (b) and (c) shall be in Norwegian or a language which is similar to Norwegian in spelling and meaning.
Pharmacological active ingredients
Norway has for a long time had restrictions on use of a variety of substances in cosmetics which have been allowed in the EU. Many of these compounds are active ingredients in pharmaceuticals, and may have adverse side effects. With the new EU regulatory framework for cosmetics, we could no longer maintain the national restrictions for these substances in cosmetics.
Norwegian Food Safety Authority has assessed the safety of use for a wide variety of these substances. Without restrictions on use, these substances may cause risk for a variety of adverse effects, such as cancer, organ damage, malformation of fetuses and skin irritation and sensitization. The substances are collected in a list that is provided here.
Norwegian Food Safety Authority urges industry to respect the recommendations on the safe use of these pharmacological active ingredients.