France Establishes Endocrine Disruptors for Product Disclosure

SG 139/23

France has established two lists of endocrine disruptor substances for reporting in products. The provisions in the new law became effective on October 13, 2023.

In 2020, France issued Decree No. 2020-105 on the ‘Fight Against Waste and the Circular Economy’. Article 13-II of this law requires information disclosure on the presence of endocrine disruptors (ED) in products if their ED properties are described as proven, presumed or suspected by the nation’s Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l’alimentation, de l’environnement et du travail, ANSES).

These obligations are consistent with the nation’s second national strategy on ED (La deuxième stratégie nationale sur les perturbateurs endocriniens, SNPE 2), whose objectives are to provide consumers with transparent information on ED in products - substances, mixtures and articles (includes packaging by statute) and food (Article R.5232-19 of the Public Health Code).

There are two lists of substances with ED properties:

• Substances with ED properties that are proven and presumed
• Substances with suspected ED properties

On October 12, 2023, France published three pieces of legislation in relation to ED in products:

• Decree of September 28, 2023, specifying the terms and conditions relating to the content and conditions of presentation of the information provided for in I and II to Article L. 5232-5 of the Public Health Code (PHC, Decree 1)
• Decree of September 28, 2023, establishing the list of substances with endocrine disrupting properties falling under I and II to L. 5232-5 of the PHC and the categories of products presenting a particular exposure risk mentioned in II of Article L. 5232-5 of the PHC (Decree 2)
• Decree of September 28, 2023, on the provision of information to identify endocrine disruptors in a product by means of an application (Decree 3)

Under the law, suppliers who place onto the market products containing an ED in a concentration of more than 0.1% are obliged to disclose this information via an electronic platform (Scan4Chem) that is available to the public.

Decree 2 establishes two lists of substances with proven and presumed endocrine disrupting properties:

• List of 127 substances with proven and presumed endocrine disrupting properties, mentioned in I to Article L.5232-5 of the PHC (Annex I, Table A) – only mancozed (CAS 8018-01-7) from this list is not on the Candidate List of substances of very high concern (SVHC) under Regulation (EU) 1907/2006 (REACH)
• List of one substance with proven and presumed endocrine disrupting properties, mentioned in I of Article L.5232-5 of the PHC and subject to health recommendations due to their nutrient nature (vitamins, minerals) and their health benefits according to standard precautions (Annex I, Table A bis)

This Decree has not established an entry for substances with suspected endocrine disrupting properties, mentioned in II to Article L. 5232-5 of the PHC, or a similar category of ED mentioned in I of Article L. 5232-5 of the PHC and subject to health recommendations.

The provisions in Decrees 1 to 3 became effective on October 13, 2023 – the day after their publication in the nation’s Official Journal.

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