- Latest available (Revised)
- Original (As adopted by EU)
Regulation (EC) No 648/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on detergents (Text with EEA relevance)
After exit day there will be three versions of this legislation to consult for different purposes. The legislation.gov.uk version is the version that applies in the UK. The EU Version currently on EUR-lex is the version that currently applies in the EU i.e you may need this if you operate a business in the EU.
The web archive version is the official version of this legislation item as it stood on exit day before being published to legislation.gov.uk and any subsequent UK changes and effects applied. The web archive also captured associated case law and other language formats from EUR-Lex.
There are outstanding changes not yet made to Regulation (EC) No 648/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council. Any changes that have already been made to the legislation appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. Changes and effects are recorded by our editorial team in lists which can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area. Where those effects have yet to be applied to the text of the legislation by the editorial team they are also listed alongside the legislation in the affected provisions. Use the ‘more’ link to open the changes and effects relevant to the provision you are viewing.
Textual Amendments
The following provisions on labelling shall apply to the packaging of detergents sold to the general public.
The following weight percentage ranges:
less than 5 %,
5 % or over but less than 15 %,
15 % or over but less than 30 %,
30 % and more,
shall be used to indicate the content of the constituents listed below where they are added in a concentration above 0,2 % by weight:
phosphates,
phosphonates,
anionic surfactants,
cationic surfactants,
amphoteric surfactants,
non-ionic surfactants,
oxygen-based bleaching agents,
chlorine-based bleaching agents,
EDTA and salts thereof,
NTA (nitrilotriacetic acid) and salts thereof,
phenols and halogenated phenols,
paradichlorobenzene,
aromatic hydrocarbons,
aliphatic hydrocarbons,
halogenated hydrocarbons,
soap,
zeolites,
polycarboxylates.
The following classes of constituent, if added, shall be listed irrespective of their concentration:
enzymes,
disinfectants,
optical brighteners,
perfumes.
If added, preservation agents shall be listed, irrespective of their concentration, using where possible the common nomenclature established under Article 8 of Council Directive 76/768/EEC of 27 July 1976 on the approximation of laws of the Member States relating to cosmetic products (1) .
If added at concentrations exceeding 0,01 % by weight, the allergenic fragrances that appear on the list of substances in Annex III, Part 1 to Directive 76/768/EEC, as a result of its amendment by Directive 2003/15/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) to include the allergenic perfume ingredients from the list first established by the Scientific Committee on Cosmetics and Non-food Products (SCCNFP) in its opinion SCCNFP/0017/98, shall be listed using the nomenclature of that Directive, as shall any other allergenic fragrances that are subsequently added to Annex III, Part 1 to Directive 76/768/EEC by adaptation of that Annex to technical progress.
[ F2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .]
Textual Amendments
F2 Deleted by Regulation (EU) No 259/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2012 amending Regulation (EC) No 648/2004 as regards the use of phosphates and other phosphorus compounds in consumer laundry detergents and consumer automatic dishwasher detergents (Text with EEA relevance).
The website address, from which the list of ingredients mentioned in section D of Annex VII can be obtained, shall be given on the packaging.
For detergents intended to be used in the industrial and institutional sector, and not made available to members of the general public, the abovementioned requirements do not have to be fulfilled if the equivalent information is provided by means of technical data sheets, safety data sheets, or in a similar appropriate manner.
As prescribed in Article 11(4), the following provisions on labelling shall apply to the packaging of detergents sold to the general public.
The packaging of detergents sold to the general public intended to be used as laundry detergents shall bear the following information:
the recommended quantities and/or dosage instructions expressed in millilitres or grams appropriate to a standard washing machine load, for soft, medium and hard water hardness levels and making provision for one or two cycle washing processes,
for heavy-duty detergents, the number of standard washing machine loads of ‘ normally soiled ’ fabrics, and, for detergents for delicate fabrics, the number of standard washing machine loads of ‘ lightly soiled ’ fabrics, that can be washed with the contents of the package using water of medium hardness, corresponding to 2,5 millimoles CaCO 3 /l,
the capacity of any measuring cup, if provided, shall be indicated in millilitres or grams, and markings shall be provided to indicate the dose of detergent appropriate for a standard washing machine load for soft, medium and hard water hardness levels,
The standard washing machine loads are 4,5 kg dry fabric for heavy-duty detergents and 2,5 kg dry fabric for light-duty detergents, in line with the definitions of Commission Decision 1999/476/EC of 10 June 1999 establishing the Ecological Criteria for the award of the Community Eco-label to Laundry Detergents (3) . A detergent shall be considered to be a heavy-duty detergent unless the claims of the manufacturer predominantly promotes fabric care, i.e. low temperature wash, delicate fibres and colours.
The packaging of detergents sold to the general public intended to be used as automatic dishwasher detergents shall bear the following information:
the standard dosage expressed in grams or ml or number of tablets for the main washing cycle for normally soiled tableware in a fully loaded 12 place settings dishwasher, making provisions, where relevant, for soft, medium, and hard water hardness.]
Textual Amendments
F3 Substituted by Regulation (EU) No 259/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2012 amending Regulation (EC) No 648/2004 as regards the use of phosphates and other phosphorus compounds in consumer laundry detergents and consumer automatic dishwasher detergents (Text with EEA relevance).
The following provisions shall apply to the listing of ingredients on the data sheet referred to in Article 9(3).
The data sheet shall list the name of the detergent and that of the manufacturer.
All ingredients shall be listed; in order of decreasing abundance by weight, and the list shall be sub-divided into the following weight percentage ranges:
10 % or more,
1 % or over, but less than 10 %,
0,1 % or over, but less than 1 %,
less than 0,1 %.
Impurities shall not be considered to be ingredients.
‘ Ingredient ’ means any chemical substance, of synthetic or natural origin, intentionally included in the composition of a detergent. For the purpose of this Annex, a perfume, an essential oil, or a colouring agent shall be considered to be a single ingredient and none of the substances that they contain shall be listed, with the exception of those allergenic fragrance substances that appear on the list of substances in Annex III, Part 1 to Directive 76/768/EEC if the total concentration of the allergenic fragrance substance in the detergent exceeds the limit mentioned in section A.
The common chemical name or IUPAC (4) name and, where available, the INCI (5) name, the CAS number, and the European Pharmacopoeia name, shall be given for each ingredient.
Manufacturers shall make available on a website the ingredient data sheet mentioned above except for the following:
information on weight percentage ranges is not required
CAS numbers are not required
the ingredient names shall be given in INCI nomenclature, or where this is not available, the European Pharmacopoeia name, shall be given. If neither name is available, the common chemical name or IUPAC name shall be used instead. For a perfume the word ‘ parfum ’ shall be used and for a colouring agent, the word ‘ colorant ’ . A perfume, an essential oil, or a colouring agent shall be considered to be a single ingredient and none of the substances that they contain shall be listed, with the exception of those allergenic fragrance substances that appear on the list of substances in Annex III, Part 1 to Directive 76/768/EEC if the total concentration of the allergenic fragrance substance in the detergent exceeds the limit mentioned in section A.
Access to the website shall not be subject to any restriction or condition and the content of the website shall be kept up to date. The website shall include a link to the Commission Pharmacos website or to any other suitable website that provides a table of correspondence between INCI names, European Pharmacopoeia names, and CAS numbers.
This obligation shall not apply to industrial or institutional detergents, or to surfactants for industrial or institutional detergents, for which a technical data sheet or safety data sheet is available.]
[F1 OJ L 262, 27.9.1976, p. 169 . Directive as last amended by Commission Directive 2005/80/EC ( OJ L 303, 22.11.2005, p. 32 ).]
[F1 [F3 OJ L 187, 20.7.1999, p. 52 . Decision as amended by Decision 2011/264/EU ( OJ L 111, 30.4.2011, p. 34 ).] ]
[F1International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.]
[F1International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient.]
Textual Amendments
F1 Substituted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 907/2006 of 20 June 2006 amending Regulation (EC) No 648/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council on detergents, in order to adapt Annexes III and VII thereto (Text with EEA relevance).
F3 Substituted by Regulation (EU) No 259/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2012 amending Regulation (EC) No 648/2004 as regards the use of phosphates and other phosphorus compounds in consumer laundry detergents and consumer automatic dishwasher detergents (Text with EEA relevance).
The Whole Regulation you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As adopted by EU): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was first adopted in the EU. No changes have been applied to the text.
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
This timeline shows the different versions taken from EUR-Lex before exit day and during the implementation period as well as any subsequent versions created after the implementation period as a result of changes made by UK legislation.
The dates for the EU versions are taken from the document dates on EUR-Lex and may not always coincide with when the changes came into force for the document.
For any versions created after the implementation period as a result of changes made by UK legislation the date will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. For further information see our guide to revised legislation on Understanding Legislation.
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including: