Korea food and drug ministry to brief cosmetics test labs on ad rules

The food and drug safety ministry said Tuesday it will hold a policy briefing for cosmetics human-application testing institutions on Nov. 19, as growing advertising based on such tests puts the reliability of the supporting evidence under scrutiny.

About 100 people in charge of human-application testing at cosmetics institutions are expected at the session, which runs from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Royal Hotel Seoul in central Seoul.

The briefing follows a public-private cooperation framework the ministry set up in June 2024 with the Korea Association of Human Clinical Trial Institutes to improve the reliability and objectivity of human-application test evidence and manage it efficiently. The ministry said the session is meant to help testing institutions run tests that meet the substantiation requirements for labeling and advertising claims.

The program covers recent revisions to the cosmetics labeling and advertising system and examples of violations, along with ways to secure the reliability of human-application test data for functional cosmetics. Officials will also introduce the International Organization for Standardization's sunscreen testing methods, covering in-vitro measurement of sun protection factor and UVA protection.

Other sessions will explain the ministry's pre-consultation service for advertising and its monitoring work, and the Korea Association of Human Clinical Trial Institutes' own monitoring of substantiation data.

Speakers include the head of the ministry's biopharmaceuticals bureau, officials from its cosmetics policy and cosmetics review divisions, and representatives of the Korea Cosmetic Association, the Korea Association of Human Clinical Trial Institutes and the P&K Skin Clinical Research Center.

The ministry said it expects the briefing to improve testing institutions' understanding of the labeling and advertising system, human-application testing standards and test methods, strengthening confidence in the quality and efficacy of K-beauty products and improving the appropriateness of labeling and advertising on cosmetics in distribution.

Registration for the briefing opens Tuesday and runs through Nov. 17 through a notice on the association's website or by email to its staff, the ministry said.