In order to sell a cosmetic in Canada, manufacturers and importers must notify Health Canada within 10 days after first sale in Canada This is achieved by submitting a Cosmetic Notification Form (CNF) to Health Canada for each cosmetic product that will be sold.
The process for filing CNFs can be confusing based on the procedure at Health Canada for reviewing and responding to CNFs. Unlike the process for drugs and natural health products, the procedure for CNF review by Health Canada does not include an “approval” of the product. However Health Canada may require additional information or clarification when reviewing a CNF in order to support processing of the CNF and assist parties with compliance. Given that there is often a time lag between the filing of a CNF and Health Canada feedback, applicants should ensure full compliance with Food and Drugs Act and its Cosmetic Regulations especially if that product is being sold in Canada during the CNF filing period.
Some common errors seen by Health Canada when reviewing CNFs include CNFs containing an ingredient which appears on the Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist, representation of therapeutic benefit in the name of the cosmetic, and improper identification of original filing when submitting an amendment to update information pertaining to the cosmetic. Avoiding these issues will reduce time delays in processing of CNFs.
Product classification is an important first step for sale of cosmetics and completing the Cosmetic Notification Form. Cosmetic products cannot have therapeutic claims associated with them. Such claims may result in the product being classified as a drug or natural health product under the Food and Drugs Act. This includes claims within the name of the product, on the product label or in advertisements for the product on company websites.
Recently Health Canada announced an update to their procedure for processing Cosmetic Notification Forms. As of February 5 2022, new CNFs which do not contain any restricted or prohibited ingredients will be processed immediately by an automated system to reduce processing delays. All other cosmetic notifications will require assessment by a Health Canada Officer and therefore involve a prolonged review. This triage-style management will hopefully reduce the likelihood of selling non-compliant cosmetics in Canada before Health Canada has had sufficient time to identify potential problems with cosmetics and their promotion.
