Brussels, 12/03/2013 (Agence Europe) - The total ban on animal testing for cosmetic products and ingredients, which came into force in European Union on 11 March, is, by general consent, a great step forward for animal welfare (see EUROPE 10803). The rapporteur on the dossier, Dagmar Roth Behrendt (S&D, Germany), considers that this comes at an appropriate time but that it also contains a loophole. He regretted that member states will still be able to use data from animal tests carried out on products that are not cosmetics and their ingredients, such as pharmaceutical and chemical products.
He said that today marked a good day for animal welfare but that it had taken 20 years to obtain a total ban. He said that they finally had the ban but the Commission had included a loophole in the system, which authorised member states to decide whether the results from animal tests carried out for other products could be used for cosmetics. Roth Behrendt asked: “Is this a result of pressure from the industry or the wisdom of an archaic legal service? I don't know. In any case, it is a mistake”.
The MEP pointed out that since 1989, Parliament had been calling for a total ban. He was keen to point out that the ban on the marketing of products and ingredients tested on animals would not put human health in danger, given that more than 10,000 substances already tested were now available to be used in different possible combinations. (AN/transl.fl)