60.6% of the Alerts on Cosmetic Products Were Notified by Italy ! Check What You Buy ! Choose Cosmetics Wisely with InfoCons !

60.6% of the Alerts on Cosmetic Products Were Notified by Italy ! Check What You Buy ! Choose Cosmetics Wisely with InfoCons !

As part of the campaign “Check What You Buy! Choose Cosmetics Wisely with InfoCons!”, InfoCons works to inform and educate consumers about the risks associated with the use of non-compliant cosmetic products identified in the European Alerts found in the InfoCons App, by promoting accurate information that is scientifically grounded and supported by the expertise of specialists in the field.

Starting from the 5,035 cosmetic products that were the subject of the study, InfoCons analysed which countries submitted the most alerts – and the answer is: Italy.

Italy submitted 3,053 alerts, i.e. 60.6% of the total – almost 2 in 3 notifications, making it the most active notifier, followed at a great distance by Hungary (10.9%) and Czechia (10.2%).

The countries that submitted the alerts for cosmetic products.

The countries that submitted the Alerts for the cosmetic products covered by this study were:

• 6% – Italy
• 9% – Hungary
• 2% – Czechia
• 9% – Other countries
• 5% – Sweden
• 6% – Romania
• 3% – Germany

Cosmetic products notified by Italy

In the Alerts submitted by Italy, perfumes and scented waters come first, with 41.8% of the Italian notifications, followed by hair-care products (11.5%), shower and bath products (8%), deodorants (7.4%), body-care products (6.8%) and nail products (6.3%).

Breakdown by category of the alerts submitted by Italy.

Detailed breakdown by category:

Product category	No. of alerts	Share
Perfumes and scented waters	1,276	41.8%
Hair care	350	11.5%
Shower and bath products	245	8.0%
Deodorants and antiperspirants	227	7.4%
Body care	207	6.8%
Nail care and decoration	191	6.3%
Soaps and hand hygiene	129	4.2%
Face and skin care	123	4.0%
Shaving and aftershave	89	2.9%
Cosmetic sets and kits	80	2.6%
Sun protection and tanning	63	2.1%
Hair dyes and colourants	33	1.1%
Other / unclassified products	15	0.5%
Wet wipes	11	0.4%
Make-up and decorative products	10	0.3%
Baby and children’s products	4	0.1%
TOTAL (alerts notified by Italy)	3,053	100%

 

The categories of products notified by Italy were:

• 8% – Perfumes and scented waters
• 5% – Hair care
• 0% – Shower and bath products
• 4% – Deodorants and antiperspirants
• 8% – Body care
• 3% – Nail care and decoration
• 2% – Soaps and hand hygiene
• 0% – Face and skin care
• 9% – Shaving and aftershave
• 6% – Cosmetic sets and kits
• 1% – Sun protection and tanning
• 1% – Hair dyes and colourants
• 5% – Other / unclassified products
• 4% – Wet wipes
• 3% – Make-up and decorative products
• 1% – Baby and children’s products

Country of origin of the cosmetic products notified by Italy

More than half of the products flagged by Italy – 51.3% – are themselves of Italian origin. The rest come from sources of unknown origin (13.4%), France (10.5%), Spain (5.7%) or the People’s Republic of China (3.9%).

Origin of the cosmetic products flagged by Italy.

The countries of origin of the products notified by Italy were:

• 3% – Italy
• 4% – Unknown
• 5% – France
• 7% – Spain
• 9% – People’s Republic of China
• 3% – United Kingdom
• 3% – Germany
• 2% – Netherlands
• 3% – Other countries

InfoCons recommendations

To shop safely, InfoCons recommends that consumers:

• Check products in the Alerts section of the InfoCons App – many notifications come from Italy, but they concern products sold throughout the European Union, including in Romania.
• Do not assume a product is safe simply because it comes from a country with a cosmetics tradition; even products of Italian origin appear frequently in alerts.
• Pay particular attention to perfumes and fragranced products – the dominant category in notifications, because of the banned ingredient Lilial.
• Read the label: the manufacturer or importer, the list of ingredients and the expiry date.

Signature: InfoCons Consumer Protection Department – Cosmetic Product Alerts