It’s a small revolution in the world of hygienic protection. From April 1, manufacturers of the approximately 2.8 billion intimate protection products sold each year in France will have to detail their composition on the packaging or the instructions for use, indicated the Fraud Repression (DGCCRF) this Friday . “From April 1, 2024, manufacturers and those responsible for placing on the market” tampons, towels, menstrual cups or panties must “mention several types on the labeling and/or instructions for use of the products concerned”. information, detailed the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention in a press release.
This information is the list of components, with “for each of them, the details of the substances and materials incorporated”, “the mention of the methods and precautions for use”, as well as “the possible undesirable effects (irritation, intolerance, allergies , microtrauma) or more serious such as menstrual toxic shock syndrome (TSS).
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The decree which comes into force on April 1 was published at the end of December in the Official Journal. It provides for “an authorized period for the sale of stocks already placed on the market until December 31,” specifies the DGCCRF. The Fraud Repression indicates that a woman “uses between 6,000 and 13,000 disposable intimate protection products during her life” and that “information on the composition and good practices of use” are essential for “preventing the risk of toxic shock syndrome. This syndrome, the occurrence of which is estimated by Inserm at around a hundred cases per year, is “mainly caused by the use of internal periodic protection, namely tampons and menstrual cups”, further details the DGCCRF.
Menstrual CTS is an acute, infectious disease caused by the release into the blood of a bacterial toxin, TSST-1, produced by a particular strain of staphylococcus. It can cause high fever, flu-like symptoms, a rash and, “in rare cases”, serious complications “which can lead to amputation or even death”, according to the National Agency website. of food, environmental and occupational health safety (ANSES). As early as February 2020, a parliamentary report recommended the obligation to mention the possible presence of traces of toxic substances on packaging. Challenged in 2015 by a petition signed by more than 300,000 people, the Procter brand