Marcelo Gotthelf, consultant with Gott-Projects, Israel, here presents his insights into the market differences for cosmetics product registration.
Gotthelf will be speaking at the upcoming Cosmetics Consultants Europe knowledge sharing event, the Open Academy in November. Find details of the event here.
Overly cautious regulation in Israel?
The Israeli MOH serves as the responsible representative of all cosmetic products marketed in Israel.
This fact causes various restrictions and even over-caution sometimes.
The restrictions refer mainly to cosmetic products registration applications - especially imported – which are marketed for many years in their countries of origin and in other countries, but in Israel they can't be registered due to various reasons.
Part of the reasons that cosmetic products can't be registered in Israel are due to the high concentration of raw materials restricted in Israel, too low acidity in hair products (pH less than 3.5), cosmetic products produced by manufacturers from countries not recognized by the Israeli MOH (Turkey, China, South Korea).
One of the reasons that the Israeli MOH applies these restrictions is that the regulatory system of the State of Israel tends to stick to the EU regulatory system.
Export partner markets: list established
A list of recognized countries from which cosmetic products can be exported has been established by Israel.
This list was established due to the fact that in these countries the regulatory system is similar to the Israeli MOH regulatory system, and therefore recognized by it.
The good news is that even if a country does not appear on this list, its cosmetic products could be registered in Israel if they are marketed in one of the recognized countries, and obtain CFS from that country.
The Israeli MOH relies on the recognized country examination of the cosmetic products and the way marketing is done in Israel.
Registration within Israel itself
For cosmetic registration in Israel, the MOH uses a software called "Magic".
The Magic software contains most of the restrictions for raw materials in cosmetic products. If there is raw material in the formula of a certain product that does not appear in the "Magic" and / or raw material with higher concentration permitted, it is possible to register it by submitting a Safety Assessment.
Along with the restrictions imposed by the Israeli MOH on cosmetic products, not every application for cosmetic product required SA.
SA is required mainly for special cosmetics products, such as baby products, sun protection products, etc.
My recommendation to those who want to market products in Israel is to contact an expert who is familiar with regulations and procedures. An expert could save you a lot of money and a lot of trouble.