Trading Standards joins forces with East Midlands colleagues to crackdown on unsafe cosmetic products
Trading Standards11 August 2025
North Northamptonshire Council’s Trading Standards service recently collaborated with colleagues from across the East Midlands on a project to check the safety on a range of cosmetic products.
As part of the initiative, Trading Standards officers examined 198 cosmetic products from a range of retailers across the East Midlands area. 78% of these products were found to be non-compliant with UK cosmetic safety regulations.
Other key findings included:
- 29% of the 35 products screen tested from national retailers were non-compliant
- 88% of the 163 products screen tested from other trader types were non-compliant
- 44% of products did not bear the responsible person details
- 71% of products required some follow up work
- 28% of products had restricted/banned ingredients
- 35% of products were seized by officers (none of these were from national traders)
Issues identified included missing information such as details of the responsible person, batch code, minimum durability date, ingredients or precautions if required. Products were found containing banned and restricted ingredients and 35% of product lines examined by officers were seized, with 71% requiring follow up action of some sort including referral to other local authorities.
Each local authority focussed on local sellers and products, North Northamptonshire Council identified issues with all of the products sampled which ranged from minor labelling omissions to a teeth whitening product which contained 7.32% hydrogen peroxide. It is illegal for teeth whitening products to contain any more than 0.1% hydrogen peroxide unless being supplied by a dental practitioner. All teeth whitening products for sale in the UK must display a UK or EU based responsible person name and address.
Consumers are reminded to:
- Always read the label – check for the UK/EU responsible person’s name and address
- Follow instructions and warnings
- Buy from reputable retailers and avoid products labelled “for professional use only”
This is an excellent piece of collaborative work between Trading Standards teams in the East Midlands. Some of these statistics are quite shocking and show the serious risks posed by unsafe cosmetic products.Cllr Kirk Harrison, the council’s Executive Member for Regulatory Services
Consumers deserve to know that the items they purchase are safe and properly labelled. Anyone who has any concerns should contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline.
As a council, we’re always looking for ways to work closely with partners and neighbouring councils to help residents.Cllr Martin Griffiths, Leader of North Northamptonshire Council
North Northants Trading Standards are part of the Trading Standards East Midlands region and maintain a close working relationship with other authorities in the region. Regional surveys are beneficial as often businesses selling illegal goods do not stick to their local area.
If you have concerns about a cosmetic product, contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133.
Businesses can seek advice from Trading Standards and find guidance online via the Business Companion or Government website.