The Cosmetic Industry Gets a Makeover: Building a Strong ‘Foundation’ for Safety Standards
On December 29, 2022, President Joe Biden signed a massive $1.7 trillion omnibus federal spending bill into law. Most notably, as tweeted out by Biden, this comprehensive legislation focused on investing in medical research and safety, veteran’s healthcare, disaster recovery, funding for the Violence Against Women Act, and military aid to Ukraine. Importantly, the bill also establishes the Modernization of Cosmetic Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA), which according to Biden, is “the most significant expansion of FDA’s authority to regulate the cosmetics industry since the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act was passed in 1938.” This legislation ushers in long overdue and stepped-up regulatory oversight, compliance, and consumer protection in the previously loosely regulated cosmetics industry. This blog will discuss the need for the updated regulations, the landmark litigation that illustrated the negative impacts on consumer’s health from an industry that was less than transparent and under-regulated, and the intent of the new legislation including if the legislation goes far enough to protect consumers from potentially harmful products.