Purpose and scope of the regulation

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Purpose and Scope of the Regulation

Regulation 648/2004 updates and consolidates existing Directives on detergents. The objectives of the Regulation are:

To improve the free movement of detergents in the Internal Market;
To modernise the existing detergents regime;
To improve environmental protection and
To provide more specific information to consumers on the contents of detergents.

The regulations impose:

A more stringent two-tier testing regime on the biodegradability of the active ingredients of detergents (known as surfactants).
A wider scope than existing legislation, with all surfactants now being covered. Previously, two categories of surfactant (around 10% of the total) were outside the scope of European Community (EC) legislation.
More stringent labelling requirements on detergent manufacturers. Existing voluntary agreements in the UK mean that most household detergents already comply with new labelling requirements to list product ingredients.
Manufacturers are also required to make ingredients datasheets available to medical personnel on request, to help with the treatment of allergies and manufacturers of domestic detergents must make available a less detailed version of the data sheet to the general public on a website.

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