The Court of Justice of the European Union has confirmed that the correct interpretation of Article 18(1)(b) of the EU Cosmetics Regulation could allow products that contain ingredients that have been tested on animals in third countries to be offered for sale in the EU, according to a report published by Bristows LLP for Lexology.

The court ruled that the article in question must be understood as banning cosmetics containing ingredients that have been tested on animals outside the EU from sale within the Union’s borders if the resulting data is used to prove the safety of the product for the EU market.

However, if such data is not relied upon to meet minimum safety standards laid out by the Cosmetics Regulation, then access to the EU market shall not be prohibited.