US FDA requires tamper-resistant packaging for cosmetics
Key takeaways
- The US FDA has mandated tamper-resistant packaging for liquid oral hygiene and cosmetic vaginal products to protect consumer safety.
- Tamper-resistant packaging must include clear indicators or barriers to entry and prominent labeling that remains intact even if tampering occurs.
- The regulation is accelerating packaging innovation, with new solutions such as tamper-evident tapes, destructive seal labels, and embedded authentication technologies.
The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded its cosmetic regulations, including requirements for packaging and labeling. The FDA Cosmetics Labeling Requirements emphasize temperature-resistant packaging for consumer safety.
“Liquid oral hygiene products (for example, mouthwashes and fresheners) and all cosmetic vaginal products (for example, douches and tablets) must be packaged in tamper-resistant packages when sold at retail,” according to the requirements.
“A package is considered tamper resistant if it has an indicator or barrier to entry (for example, shrink or tape seal, sealed carton, tube or pouch, aerosol container) which, if breached or missing, alerts a consumer that tampering has occurred.”
The legal document dictates that the tampering indicator must be distinctive by design (breakable cap, blister) or appearance (logo, vignette, other illustration) “to preclude substitution.”
“The tamper-resistant feature may involve the immediate or outer container or both. The package must also bear a prominently placed statement alerting the consumer to the tamper-resistant feature.”
The law outlines that the alerting statement must remain unaffected if the tamper-resistant feature is breached or missing.
According to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, and the regulations published under the authority of these laws, all cosmetics marketed in the US must comply with the requirements.
Tamper-resistant tech
Packaging resistant to tampering is essential for consumer safety in the cosmetics industry, prompting ongoing innovation in packaging design and technology,
Last year, DataLase, a photonic printing solutions company, partnered with TamperTech to develop a tamper-evident tape that integrates DataLase’s pigment chemistry as a coating within the tape.
Meanwhile, Herma released a multilayer variant of its 63Spc adhesive for conventional material security and tamper-evident labels. The 63Spc’s high final adhesion means that when the seal labels are removed, it destroys them or leaves a mark.
AlpVision began to use cryptoglyph authentication to embed security patterns in packaging varnish.
