Detergents

Current legislation on detergents 

• Consolidated version of Regulation (EC) No 648/2004 containing the latest adopted amendment Regulation (EU) No 259/2012
• Regulation (EU) No 259/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2012 amending the Regulation (EC) No 648/2004 as regards the use of phosphates and other phosphorus compounds in consumer laundry detergents and consumer automatic dishwasher detergents
• Regulation (EC) No 551/2009 of 25 June 2009 amending Regulation (EC) No 648/2004 on detergents, in order to adapt Annexes V and VI thereto (surfactant derogation)
• Regulation (EC) No 907/2006 of 20 June 2006 amending Regulation (EC) No 648/2004 on detergents, in order to adapt Annexes III and VII thereto
• Regulation (EC) No 648/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on detergents
  consolidated version (27/06/2009)
• Tiered approach guidance document [163 KB] - Methodology for the tiered approach to testing in the context of Annex IV of Regulation (EC) No 648/2004 - Commission Recommendation C/2005/5677 [3 MB] of 23. December 2005.
• List of the 26 allergenic substances [12 KB] which must be labelled on the packaging of detergents if added at concentrations exceeding 0,01% w/w - see Directive 2003/15/EC (7th amendment to Directive 76/768/EEC, Annex III, part I) on the Cosmetics website / Legislation updates
• List of the Member States [55 KB] having confirmed that they intend to keep existing national restrictions on the content of phosphates and of other phosphorus compounds in line with Article 14.3 of Regulation (EU) No 259/2012

Guidance on the implementation of the detergents legislation

These guidance documents are not legally binding

• CESIO guideline [164 KB] which gives standardised declarations on biodegradability for use on Material Safety Datasheets (MSDS) to enable surfactant manufacturers to fulfil their responsibilities under Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 648/2004
• AISE/CESIO/ECOSOL/FECC guidelines [382 KB] on the transmission of information for surfactants biodegradability as indicated by Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 648/2004
• AISE has produced a guideline [377 KB] to help industry with the implementation of the provisions on the biodegradability of surfactants and on the labelling of detergents under Regulation (EC) No 648/2004. This guideline was approved by the Commission and Member States at a meeting of the working group on detergents on 17 January 2005
• " Read Across Rules [163 KB] " in the context of Annex III of Regulation (EC) No 648/2004

Reports of the Commission on the implementation of the Detergents Legislation

• Commission report concerning the biodegradability of the main non-surfactant organic detergent ingredients (May 2009)
• Commission report concerning anaerobic biodegradation (May 2009)

• Commission Report on phosphates in detergents (April 2007)
• Final report (1996-2001)on the results reached by the implementation of Commission Recommendation 98/480/EC of 22 July 1998, concerning good environmental practice for household laundry detergents

Studies

• 2009 laymans summary of the INIA report [155 KB]
• 2009 updated CEEP-INIA study report [4 MB] of the European Quantitative Eutrophication Risk Assessment of Polyphosphates in Detergents
• 2007 CEEP-INIA study report of the European Quantitative Eutrophication Risk Assessment of Polyphosphates in Detergents [3 MB] and the revised summary of the report [78 KB]
• Non-surfactant Organic Ingredients and Zeolite-based Detergents [845 KB] , study carried out by RPA Ltd, June 2006
• Biodegradation of Detergent Surfactants in Anaerobic Conditions, study carried out by UMSICHT in July 2003
• Cationic & Amphoteric Surfactant Primary Biodegradability Ring Test, ETD/98/502063 [194 KB]

Contact points

• Associations and federations [11 KB]
• European Commission: Requests by manufacturers for derogations under Art. 5, and enquiries concerning the detergents legislation.
• List of approved laboratories [56 KB] in accordance with Art. 8 of Regulation 648/2004
• National authorities [122 KB]
• Wash-Right Website

FAQ

FAQ on the Detergent Regulation [99 KB]

Old legislation

Commission proposal COM (2010) 597

Press release

Impact Assessment SEC(2010)1277 final [767 KB]

Summary Impact assessment SEC(2010)1278 final [51 KB]

Opinion of the Impact Assessment Board [197 KB]

Citizen's summary [22 KB]

       Old legislation on detergents