The Home Office has paved the way for a return to animal testing for chemicals used in purely cosmetic products, campaigners have warned, in a move they say would up-end more than two decades of government policy.

Cruelty Free International (CFI) said animal testing on ingredients used in cosmetics - which was banned in the UK 1998 - could be required after the Home Office told them that the Government had “reconsidered its policy.”

In a letter, the Governemnt said it was aligning itself with a decision made last year by the appeals board of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) which said that some ingredients used only in cosmetics needed to be tested on animals to ensure they were safe.

The ECHA ruling, dated August 2020, concerns German fragrances producer Symrise and states that EU regulations on animal testing for cosmetics do not prevent the need to comply with EU chemicals legislation.

The Home Office’s Animals in Science Regulation Unit wrote in the letter that the U.K. had now “aligned its approach to the Board of Appeal of the European Chemicals Agency in the Symrise case.”

However, the ban on animal testing for finished cosmetic products, as opposed to individual ingredients, will remain in force, according to the letter, sent to CFI last week.

Katy Taylor, CFI’s director of science and regulatory affairs, said the decision

“blows a hole in the UK’s long-standing leadership of no animal testing for cosmetics and makes a mockery of the country’s quest to be at the cutting edge of research and innovation, relying once again on cruel and unjustifiable tests that date back over half a century.”

Anand Menon, director of the UK in a Changing Europe think tank, said this is one of the first clear examples of policy divergence between Britain and the EU.

“The question of divergence from the EU rules is going to be crucial,” he said. “The degree to which we decide to do regulations differently in key areas such as medicines or medical devices will be fundamental to our economic relationship with the European Union.”

A Home Office spokesperson said:

“There has been no change in our legislation and the ban on using animals for the testing of finished cosmetic products remains in force. Under UK regulations to protect the environment and the safety of workers, animal testing can be permitted, where required by UK regulators, on single or multi-use ingredients. However, such testing can only be conducted where there are no non-animal alternatives.”

A 2020 survey from UK charity Frame found that 84% of respondents would not buy a cosmetics product if they knew it, or one of its ingredients, had been tested on animals.

Symrise has challenged the ruling at the European court of justice on scientific grounds.

Sophisticated approaches that can ensure the safety of cosmetics without using animals already exist, said Fentem. “And then you’ve got these regulations which just don’t align with the science that we’ve got.”

She said the move by the UK signalled a complete reversal of the leadership on no animal testing for cosmetics. “That’s the signal to the consumer who’s looking at having logos on the pack around sustainability, no animal testing, vegan etc … essentially then it’s the house of cards, and everything around cruelty-free products just collapses.”

Courtesy of HKALPO