Vertebrates can no longer be used in tests conducted for the development and quality control of personal care products, cosmetics and fragrances in Brazil. The ban, debated for several years in the federal parliament, finally came from the new Lula government via A resolution (Resolution No. 58/2023) of the National Council for the Control of Animal Experimentation (Concea – National Council for the Control of Animal Experimentation), a collegiate body attached to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI).
RESOLUTION No. 58 OF FEBRUARY 24, 2023
The measure applies to products whose formulas and components have already been proven to be safe and effective. For the others, the standard imposes the use of alternative methods. According Katia de Angeliscoordinator of Concea, 40 alternative methods are currently recognized by the council.
« We have recognized methods for evaluating skin toxicity via artificial skin, or eye irritation via an artificial cornea. These alternative methods allow us to maintain our autonomy to study new ingredients, those from our biodiversity, in the Amazon for example, and without using animals or possibly a very small number of animals. “, she explains.
Kátia de Angelis also points out that this progress puts Brazil in line with the most recent international legislation in this area. Today, more than 40 countries worldwide have already banned animal testing in terms of cosmetics: the Member States of the European Union or in Latin America in countries such as Colombia, Mexico and Guatemala. However, the Brazilian text does not provide for a ban on the importation of products tested abroad.
The text approved last December at a Concea meeting was signed on February 28 by the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Luciana Santos and entered into force on March 1, 2023.
At the end of last year, the Federal Senate approved a similar text before sending it to the Chamber of Deputies. In addition to the ban, the project provided for inspection measures and a strategic plan for the adoption of alternative methods.
