Taiwan Regulatory News

The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) of Taiwan has amended some of the articles of Regulations for the Labelling and Materials Safety Data Sheets for Toxic and Concerned Chemical Substanc...

The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) of Taiwan has amended some of the articles of Regulations for the Labelling and Materials Safety Data Sheets for Toxic and Concerned Chemical Substances. The amended regulation came into force on 4 November 2022, except for Articles 3 and 4 where it will be effective from 31 October 2023.

The amendments were based on a consultation that was published on 21 July 2022 and closed on 20 August 2022. The amendment was made to align with the EU’s Regulation on Classification, Labelling, Packaging of Substances and Mixtures (CLP Regulations).

Before the amendments, companies only needed to indicate the hazardous substances presented in the mixtures. Now, companies have to list all hazardous substances on the SDS and the label. The information on hazardous substances can be labelled in two ways. Companies can include the hazard information if the testing report is available for the mixture. If there is no available testing result for mixtures, companies should follow the national standard CNS 15030 to label the substances’ hazards.

Articles 3 and 4 of the regulation concern the labelling requirements and the packaging size. See earlier news on this.

On August 17, 2022, Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published an amendment to the Safe Guidance of Cosmetic products used by children. The new amendment specifies certain chemicals shou...

On August 17, 2022, Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published an amendment to the Safe Guidance of Cosmetic products used by children. The new amendment specifies certain chemicals should not be used cosmetic used by children. To summarize the new requirements:

• Infant related cosmetic products should not contain Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, in addition to Candida albicans specified in the previous guidance.
• Cosmetic products containing Calcium salicylate, Magnesium salicylate, MEA-salicylate 、 Sodium salicylate, Potassium salicylate, TEA-salicylate need to specify children below three years should not use (shampoo related product are exception). In the earlier guidance, only salicylic acid is mentioned.
• Cosmetic products containing Hydrogen peroxide, Urea peroxide should include label “children under 12 years old are not recommended to use”.
• Cosmetic products containing ingredients of Camphor, Menthol, Methyl Salicylate should include label “children below 2 years old are recommended to not use”. Earlier, it only mentions use before consulting doctors or pharmacist.
• Nail polisher related cosmetics that contain ingredients Toluene should include label, “avoid contact with children”  
• Ccosmetics products ingredients Thioglycolic acid, Potassium hydroxide, Sodium hydroxide should include “should storage at site not reachable by children”  
• For non-medicinal toothpastes with a fluoride content of 0.1 to 0.15%, if there is no indication that children are prohibited from using it, it should be stated as "The maximum size of rice grains per time for children under 3 years old; the maximum size of a pea per time for children aged 3 to 6 years," And try to avoid swallowing.”
• Non-medicated toothpastes and mouthwashes contain Strontium compounds should include labels “Not recommended for frequent use on children”  
• Cosmetics contain talc (Talc) ingredients, it is recommended to label "keep away from mouth and nose when children use it".
• Cosmetics containing Iodopropynyl butylcarbamate should be marked with the precaution "Not for use by children under 3 years old" (bath and shampoo products are exempt from the precautions)
• Oral, lip and eye cosmetics contain silver chloride should label “Not for use by children under 3 years old”.
• Cosmetics contain ingredients of Butylparaben, Propylparaben, Sodium propylparaben, Sodium butylparaben, Potassium butylparaben, Potassium propylparaben should include lable: “Do not use on children under 3 years of age on the diaper area”
• Cosmetic products containing ingredients of Ethyl lauroyl arginate HCl should include label of “Not for use by children under 10 years old”.

The Safe Guidance of Cosmetic products used by children was first published in 2016 to ensure safety of cosmetic products used by children. With this new guidance, cosmetic companies will need to include those labels or warning text on their products.

Taiwan’s EPA plans to modify the “Regulations for the Labelling and Materials Safety Date Sheets for Toxic and Concerned Chemical Substances” and is consulting until 20 August. This modification...

Taiwan’s EPA plans to modify the “Regulations for the Labelling and Materials Safety Date Sheets for Toxic and Concerned Chemical Substances” and is consulting until 20 August. This modification is to harmonize with EU’s Regulation on the classification, labelling and packaging (CLP) and to ensure the information of the labelling for toxic and concerned chemicals is clearly conveyed.

The current labelling is consisted of pictogram and content. On the content, it includes name, hazardous ingredients, cautious and warning words, hazard statement, precautionary statements, manufactures/suppliers’ information (e.g., name, address, telephone number).

According to the draft amendment published on July 21, key modifications are:

• Adding containers and packaging’ smallest size requirement. Manufacturers may use fordable labels or attached to the containers if the surfaces or materials of the containers are limited. 
• For toxic and concerned chemicals substances, if the hazardous characteristics cannot be classified in accordance with the classification schemed in the National Standard CNS 15030, manufacturers are allowed to only label name, hazardous ingredients and manufacturer/suppliers’ info.
• For package under 100 ml, it only needs to label name, pictogram and cautious and warning words.
• The government may issue specific wording to certain chemicals that are under control. For instance, in order to manage the use of Nitrous oxide (laughing gas), the government may ask manufacturers to include “restricted for industrial use, prohibited for recreational use”  

After the modification, Taiwanese government will give manufacturers one-year grace period to adopt to the new labelling requirements, which as the EPA stated is 31 August 2023.  

This modification can help industries to prepare the labelling more consistent with both export and import requirements. For package/container under 100 ml, the label requirements are reduced.

Two amendments were announced to mandate inspection requirements for commodities subject to Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) regulation in Taiwan on February 24 and March 15, 2022. They were...

Two amendments were announced to mandate inspection requirements for commodities subject to Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) regulation in Taiwan on February 24 and March 15, 2022. They were announced by the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection (BSMI), Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) of Taiwan. The effective date of these revised inspection standards is February 22, 2022, whereas the old standards are invalid starting from January 1, 2024.

A total of 53 commodities are subject to RoHS regulation, and Section 5 “Marking of Presence” of CNS 15663 (2013) is included in all these inspection standards. The two new amendments cover the requirements for commodities like printers, storage devices (i.e. hard disk drives, HDD), monitors, etc., as shown in the table below.

For a commodity subject to a declaration of conformity, the declaration of conformity will be invalid from January 1, 2025, according to the explanations of these notices. It is therefore recommended for manufacturers or importers concerned to update the declaration of conformity accordingly before December 31, 2024.

To further explain the application scope for all the products, an explanation of exemption conditions is made, “Products belonging to medical devices or telecommunications terminal devices are excluded”. For some products with expanded application scope, for instance, “machines for receiving, converting, transmitting, or reproducing sound, images, or other data”, a gateway is added to the application scope of inspection standards; a rechargeable electric pencil sharpener is as well added to the application scope of the inspection standard of pencil sharpener, which will be subject to products imported or manufactured in Taiwan after January 1, 2024.

CNS 15598-1 (revised in 2020) limits requirements for mercury content in cold cathode fluorescent lamps and induction lamps (<500 mm: 3.5 mg or less, 500 mm ~ 1500 mm: 5 mg or less, > 1500 mm: 13 mg or less).

* CNS 15663: Guidance to Reduction of the Restricted Chemical Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Taiwan national standard related to RoHS).

The amendments to the “List of Ingredients Prohibited from Using in the Cosmetic Products” were made on April 27, 2022, by the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Taiwan. The statement stipulates th...

The amendments to the “List of Ingredients Prohibited from Using in the Cosmetic Products” were made on April 27, 2022, by the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Taiwan. The statement stipulates that cosmetics should not contain mercury, lead, or other ingredients banned for use by the central competent authority, formulated from the upper-level law of the List, Article 6, Paragraph 1 of the Cosmetic Hygiene and Safety Act.

Conclusively, the manufacture, importation, sale, supply, or display (for the purpose of sale or supply) of cosmetics that contain the ingredients listed in the statement is prohibited. This revision mainly focused on 4 ingredients - Alanroot oil (Inula helenium L.), Rauwolfia serpentina L., alkaloids and their salts, Yohimbine and its salts, and Tripterygium wilfordii Hook.f., which together with the newly-revised list will come into effect from July 1, 2022.

To prevent and handle the environmental and health concerns arising from the use of the substance; polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in Food Contact Materials (FCMs), Taiwanese authority is making efforts to b...

To prevent and handle the environmental and health concerns arising from the use of the substance; polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in Food Contact Materials (FCMs), Taiwanese authority is making efforts to ban the production, import, and sale of FCMs that contain PVC, currently scheduled from July 1, 2023.

The ban applies to both food/plate packaging materials as well as designated recyclable or disposable tableware containers produced with PVC. The categories of products affected include those intended for animal food, dairy products, drinks, and seasonings.

Plate packaging materials are defined as the plastic lining, blister and plate containers, which must be recycled in accordance with Taiwan’s Waste Disposal Act. Plasticisers like phthalates are added to make PVC flexible. The potential migration of plasticisers into foods or drinks brought about by the use of PVC dwells in FCMs containing PVC, which can moreover release toxicants such as dioxins and heavy metals into the environment as the items are burnt in disposal management, according to an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announcement.

Under Taiwanese food packaging standards, some other types of phthalates, i.e. DEHP, DBP, BBP, DNOP, DIDP, DINP, DMP and DEP, have either been banned or restricted previously by the EPA. The recycling fees for PVC packaging are also gradually raised so as to steer the industries to safer chemical usage alternatives.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Ministry of Labor of Taiwan released a question-and-answer format of the SDS checklist on April 21, 2022. This is to encourage the downstream users a...

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Ministry of Labor of Taiwan released a question-and-answer format of the SDS checklist on April 21, 2022. This is to encourage the downstream users and companies of chemicals to verify the contents of SDS provided by the upstream manufacturers. Further, it will make upstream manufacturers verify their own Safety Data Sheet (SDS) more carefully.

Verification of items categorized under the following 5 groups is required:

1. Conformity of contents to be listed in accordance with related laws and regulations
2. Whether the information on hazardous ingredients is appropriate or not
3. Consistency with GHS classification
4. Whether the SDS test data is appropriate or not
5. Consistency of content description in SDS.

For example, a clearer indication of category 2 “If the information on hazardous ingredients is appropriate or not” of the checklist is listed in the following table with the options of Yes/No/Unconfirmed to be chosen from: