Cosmetics product information file (PIF)

About the cosmetics product information file (PIF)

The product information file is a cosmetic product dossier containing all the most important information about the finished product, ingredients which the product is made from, packaging in which the product is sold, manufacturing process and product labelling, which shows the product characteristics, its safety and efficacy. Each product placed on the EU/UK market needs to have a product information file prepared.

According to the EU Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009 (and the same in the UK cosmetics regulation), the responsible person must keep a product information file for each cosmetic product placed on the EU/UK market, at the address specified on the product label, readily accessible for the competent authority of the EU member state (or UK) where the responsible person is established. The product information file has to be available in a language easily understood by the local competent authority of the country where the responsible person is keeping the cosmetics product information file.

When a cosmetic product is placed on the market, the responsible person shall keep a product information file for it. The product information file shall be kept for a period of ten years following the date on which the last batch of the cosmetic product was placed on the market (EU Regulation 1223/2009, Article 11.1).

The responsible person shall make the product information file readily accessible in electronic or other format at his address indicated on the label to the competent authority of the Member State in which the file is kept. The information contained in the product information file shall be available in a language which can be easily understood by the competent authorities of the Member State (EU Regulation 1223/2009, Article 11.3).

The product information file must be kept at one single address within the EU/UK, even if the cosmetic product is sold in various EU countries. This also means that there can only be one responsible person per product for the whole of the EU - there cannot, for example, be one responsible person in Germany and one in France for the same product.

Product information file (PIF) content

The product information file content is described in article 11 of EU Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009 and UK Schedule 34 to the Product Safety and Metrology etc. (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. The content of the cosmetics product information file is standardized and does not change, irrespective of the type of cosmetic product in question.

According to article 11, the product information file must contain the following information and data:

A description of the cosmetic product

A description of the method of manufacturing and either a good manufacturing practice certificate or a statement on compliance with good manufacturing practice (the GMP standard which must be followed in the EU is standard ISO 22716)

Where justified, a proof of the effect claimed for the cosmetic product

Any data on animal testing

The product information file should also contain product labelling

CPSR* (See text box)

A complete cosmetics product information file (PIF) is the basis for the notification to the EU CPNP portal or the UK SCPN portal, which must be performed before the cosmetic products can be placed on the EU/UK market.

*Cosmetic product safety report (CPSR)

The most important and most extensive part of the cosmetics product information file is the cosmetic product safety report (CPSR), which contains all the information, specifications and tests relating to the raw materials, finished product, packaging, etc. Based on these, the safety and the compliance of the cosmetic product with the EU/UK cosmetics regulation can be proven.

Cosmetic product safety report (CPSR), the contents of which are described in annex I, consisting of the following:

Part A: Cosmetic product safety information

Quantitative and qualitative composition of the cosmetic product

Physical/chemical characteristics and stability of the cosmetic product

Microbiological quality

Impurities, traces, information about the packaging material

Normal and reasonably foreseeable use

Exposure to the cosmetic product

Toxicological profile of the substances

Undesirable effects and serious undesirable effects

Information on the cosmetic product

Part B: Cosmetic product safety assessment

Assessment conclusion

Labelled warnings and instructions for use

Reasoning

Assessor's credentials and approval

Cosmetics regulatory services

CE.way services related to the product information file

CE.way can offer various services related to the preparation of the product information file. We can offer:

Start selling in the EU and UK!

And what do they say about us?

Pharmaplast began to work with CE.way almost one year ago. CE.way is our cosmetics consultant who look after compilation of PIF, safety assessments and CPNP notifications. In addition to this, CE.way is our European representative as our company is not located in Europe. Working with CE.way has been a joy so far. Their replies are very swift and Mr Tadej is very cooperative, helpful and with a deep knowledge about the cosmetics regulations. In addition to this, CE.way is very cost effective company in comparison with their European counterparts. For all the above reasons, I really recommend CE.way to other cosmetic product manufacturers.

Mena, Egypt

Pharmaplast

We were looking for a stand-alone service, not too sure what to expect... The professionalism, the assistance and the responsiveness were very much appreciated, amongst the best we have ever experienced.

Carol, Switzerland

Alpure

We are a small manufacturing company located in the US. We recently used CE.way Regulatory Consultants to help guide us through the Cosmetic regulatory changes that have taken place in the EU. They were instrumental in helping us understand the new laws and streamline the entire process. I would highly recommend their services.

Lena and Clay, USA

IBP

We didn't have any knowledge about the registration process for cosmetics in EU and were very concerned about this, but we met CE.way and they gave us whole packages of consultation and support. It was really helpful and we could do the registration without any problem. We will definitely ask CE.way again when we have new product to register in EU.

Masa, Japan

Nash Corporation

We used Tadej and CE.way for EU compliance with our products. He was very helpful and worked directly with our lab which made the process much easier for us. Tadej worked with me directly on all of our products to make sure I had the right documents. I really liked the attention to detail and how I could work with the owner of the company directly. I would highly recommend their services.

Steve, Canada

Curly Hair Solutions

Tadej from CE.way is the best consultant I've ever worked with. It's a great luck that we've found him. He is knowledgeable, fast, helpful & always ready to answer a million questions that we have. We had no exposure to cosmetics market before, so we didn't even know where to start. So he helped us to do EVERYTHING. The quality of service for the amount of money that we pay is absolutely the best! BIG THANK YOU to you Tadej & we'll definitely keep working with you!

Natalia, USA

Hi Tadej, Thank you for your highly professional approach, extremely helpful information and advice on getting our product registration under way and completed in record time! What we thought to be a very tiresome and laborious task was made quick and simple. Thank you again! The Thermitek Team.

Rene, Greece

Funkitup

It's been our first time lodging an application for EU Compliance. Although a big task, Tadej from CE.way made it as painless as possible. His patience and help were invaluable. He was so responsive and was available at all times to work with myself and my manufacturers. We now have our first round of product successfully assessed and notified. I will be placing our next round asap for notification, I can't recommend CE.way highly enough, thanks Tadej - Heather Spierings Eye of Horus Cosmetics.

Heather, Australia

RA Cosmetics

CE.way offers professional and reliable service. The team is diligent and extremely helpful throughout the whole process. We are very satisfied the way the work was executed. We definitely recommend CE.way to others.

Tamar, USA

Nuvision

CE.way made the whole EU process easy to understand. They were very responsive to all our needs.

James, USA

Eufora

This is a major investment for a small business like ours and it took me a few years to find a company (CE.way) that I felt comfortable working with! That speaks volume to my appreciation of the quality of your communications with me.

Vivian, USA

VB cosmetics

Our company had a great experience with CE.way. They were very organized and provided us with a detailed roadmap of exactly what we needed to gather on our end for them to put together our Product Information File and complete the notification process for the EU. They continued to help us along the way, providing quick feedback on any changes we needed to make to a document for it to work and reminders on what we still needed to provide. They are organized, knowledgeable, fast, and attentive; I would absolutely recommend them to any companies looking to get their products approved in the EU.

Cyrus, USA

SBBM

CE.way's assistance was tremendous, helping our company navigate the EU cosmetic regulation and efficiently get products to market.

Mike, USA

Inverness

Our cooperation with Tadej and his team at CE.way Consultants aimed to assist us to launch our products in UK for the first time. Tadej is a very hands on and always quick with his responses. The process was smooth and beyond our expectations in terms of cost savings and the speed with which we accomplished our goal. We look forward to working with them again.

Ruta, UK

Art de Parfum

We are really appreciate your speedy replies and clear and understandable guide. As there are a lot of differences in cosmetic regulations between Japan and EU first we thought that it would be hard to make all necessary procedures for our products compliance with EU laws, but thanks for your prompt support, all procedures were made smoothly. And now we are successfully selling MT Metatron in EU. We also thinking to expand our other brands in EU and when we start - definitely will ask your company for assist again.

Olga, Japan

MT Cosmetics, Inc.

After a less than pleasurable experience with another company, we found CE.way and we can honestly say that it could not be more beneficial for our brand. The whole notification process is made as easy as possible. The people at CE.way are all very accessible, knowledgeable and always ready to answer questions. CE.way is a great asset to our company and we are grateful for all the help and support we receive. Navigating through all rules and regulations alone is impossible, with the team at CE.way, we have the best support that we could ask for. Highly recommended in all aspects from their support to their reliable service!

Daniel, USA

NCLA

Testimonials

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