BfR Annual Report 2015

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frequent with these products: the comparatively highly
concentrated washing agent is released from the capsule
as a jet, often causing severe irritation in the mouth or
eyes. The percentage of accidents that require hospital
treatment is far higher with liquid cap products than with
traditional laundry detergents. After oral contact with the
liquid caps content children often vomit multiple times.
When the first scientific studies and media reports had
described the increased risk of poisoning, laundry deter-
gent manufacturers launched measures to improve prod-
uct safety (A.I.S.E. Product Stewardship Programme):
these measures included the use of opaque outer pack-
aging, better seals and additional warning information.
However, implementation of these measures did not
achieve the desired effects. For this reason, the Europe-
an Commission introduced far stricter legal requirements
for laundry detergent capsules: since mid-2015 the cap-
sule film must contain a bittering agent that is designed
to dissuade children from licking them. In addition, the
pods must withstand higher pressures and the outer
packaging has to be equipped with a safer seal and has
to be opaque in order to make the coloured caps invis-
ible when the seal is closed.
Together with Public Health England, the National Health
Institute in Italy and eight European poisons centres, the
BfR is investigating whether these new measures actually
do reduce the risks: in a study on behalf of the European
Commission, all calls to the participating poisons centres
related to exposures to liquid cap products are being
registered and the callers provided medical advice. The
next day, a poisons centre staff member calls back and
enquires about the circumstances of the accident in de-
tail. It is particularly important to determine what makes a
product attractive to children: According to Article 35 of
the European CLP Regulation (EC No 1272/2008), con-
sumer products that are classified as hazardous should
not be designed in such a way that they can attract the
active curiosity of children or mislead consumers – due
to the fact that the packaging makes them think of food
or drinks, for example.
The collection of case data began in August 2015 and
will continue until the spring of 2016. Up to the end of
the year, there was no discernible trend in poisoning fre-
quency in Europe. Preliminary analysis indicates that the
number of reported accidents in Germany is at least not
showing further increase. The final report to the Europe-
an Commission in summer 2016 will outline the findings
of the study and assess all current and potential future
safety measures for liquid cap products geared towards
reducing the risk of poisoning.
Risk assessment of tobacco additives
The new European tobacco directive came into force in
2014 and had to be transferred into national law by the
member states by 20 May 2016. In Germany, a new To-
bacco Products Act and a tobacco directive have been
introduced. Among other things, the European directive
introduces combined text-image warnings, the percent-
age of space on the packaging for warnings is higher
than before, and – for the first time – regulations have
been agreed upon at European level regarding electron-
ic cigarettes and novel tobacco products.
One of the tasks of the BfR is to assess tobacco ad-
ditives, which should not further increase the already
considerable health risks associated with tobacco. This
relates not only toxicity but also product properties and
compounds that might increase addiction potential or
make it easier to inhale tobacco smoke, such as for ex-
ample menthol. The new regulations are also designed
to restrict the options for the development and market
launch of more attractive products for smokers. It is for
this reason that aroma capsules and characteristic fla-
vours are to be banned for cigarettes and other tobacco
products. Also prohibited for tobacco products in future
is the suggestion of supposed health benefits, vitality or
an active “lifestyle”.
In terms of consumer protection, the new European stip-
ulations improve the way in which tobacco is regulated
in a number of important ways. At the same time, the
enactment of the new Tobacco Products Act means that
the previous approval obligation for tobacco additives in
Germany no longer applies – with the result that addi-
tives that used to be inadmissible during the production
process may now be used unless they are explicitly pro-
hibited. It is therefore to be expected that the range of
additives and the range of products will increase mark-
edly in the coming years. This will also create new tasks
and new challenges for risk assessment activities.
i The BfR Opinion no. 045/2015 (in German) contains
detailed information on the health assessment of additives
for tobacco products and electronic cigarettes and can
be found at:
Tobacco additives may not further increase the already
considerable health risks associated with tobacco.
Product Safety