NSF International Expands Standards

Companies can now source from approved EU and US organic ingredient suppliers for their NSF/ANSI 305 compliant products, increasing global access to certified products

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — NSF International’s American National Standard for Personal Care Products Containing Organic Ingredients (NSF/ANSI 305) has been expanded to allow plant-based ingredients that are certified to European Union (EU) organic regulations. As a result, companies formulating personal care products for compliance with the NSF/ANSI 305 Personal Care Products Containing Organic Ingredients standard are now able to source from both U.S. National Organic Program (NOP)-certified ingredients and EU-certified ingredients suppliers.

The NSF/ANSI 305 standard promotes the widespread use of organic agriculture beyond the food sector. Similar to the USDA NOP regulations, the NSF/ANSI 305 standard defines labeling and marketing requirements but specifically for personal care products (e.g. oral care and personal hygiene products) that contain organic ingredients. It also establishes requirements for agricultural ingredients and methods of extraction based on the final product’s label claim. EU organic regulations: EC 834/2007 & EC 889/2008 define requirements on organic production and labeling of organic products.

NSF/ANSI 305 is the only consensus-based standard for personal care products containing organic ingredients. The American National Standard was developed based on balanced participation from key stakeholder groups including: regulators, personal care manufacturers, trade associations, product retailers, and other stakeholders from the organic and personal care products communities.

“NSF/ANSI 305 opens up new growth opportunities for personal care companies whose products contain organic ingredients and speaks to the globalization of the cosmetic supply chain. Allowing equivalent EU-certified ingredients will harmonize NSF/ANSI 305 with global organic production without any loss of organic integrity,” said Jane Wilson, Standards Director of NSF International, a U.S. standards development, testing and certification organization committed to protecting the environment and public health.

With the increasing interest of global harmonization, companies certified to other international standards, such as the NATRUE European standard, will be closer to also complying with NSF/ANSI 305. Companies who certify their products to the NSF standard demonstrate to consumers, retailers, health care practitioners and regulators that their certified products have been independently evaluated to meet the standard requirements.

The NSF/ANSI 305 personal care logo identifies personal care products that have achieved certification to the standard.

More info: NSF.org