What is product compliance?

Product compliance explained

The compliance of a product will vary widely from one product to another. It may possibly depend on controls made prior to its marketing and production. A product necessarily has a nomenclature, i.e. a bill of material that will eventually provide the unique substance that can be regulated. The “compliance” aspect of a product is derived from the compliance of the substances it is made up of, but also sometimes from its actual uses, sectors of use, etc.

The first question that must be asked is simple: what are the substances that make up my product, now and in the future? It is therefore a question of describing the nomenclature of a product by listing the sub-parts and the possible lower levels until a list of substances, identified by their CAS number, their EC number and their name, is collected. This necessary information can be obtained from the supplier of said product, who will, in turn, ask his supplier for the relevant information, working its way up the supply chain to the producer of the substance.

The compliance of the product depends on the substances it contains which may be found in regulatory lists, therefore having more or less significant consequences on the product.

The fact that a substance is mentioned in a regulation does not necessarily mean the product is non-compliant. For example, with Annex XVII of the REACH Regulation, the product will be compliant if it complies with the restrictions given in the substance sheet. Failure to do so may result in a marketing ban.

To check whether a product is compliant, ensure that it complies with applicable regulations. Because of the difficulty in collecting all the information required for the compliance of a product, as a result of increasingly stringent regulations and complex products manufactured and marketed, it is important to establish a substantial database that must be regularly updated and maintained so as to meet regulatory obligations.