Brazil has loosened regulations affecting the cosmetics industry, meaning that products can be placed on the market without government approval.

The government’s National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) has divided cosmetics products into two categories according to whether or not products need to be officially approved before they can be sold to consumers in Brazil.

Category one cosmetics, considered to pose a lower risk, can now be cleared with a simple online pre-marketing notification, instead of full registration and approval by Anvisa. Toothpaste and facial creams, for example, fall under this category.

Category two cosmetics include tanning products, sunscreen, insect repellent, antiseptic hand gel and children’s products. These will remain subject to registration, and have to be approved by Anvisa before marketing.

The new system will speed up the process and allow the agency to “focus its analysis on riskier products,” Anvisa states. Although approval is not required for category one products, safety requirements for the cosmetics sold in the country remain the same, and Anvisa insists that the market will continue to be monitored with “periodic” and “random verification” procedures.