Bill approved in the Chamber prohibits the use of animals in cosmetic testing

Brazil Agency - The Chamber of Deputies approved this Wednesday (9) the bill that prohibits the use of live vertebrate animals in tests of ingredients or personal hygiene products, cosmetics and perfumes, including to ascertain their danger, effectiveness or safety. The text will be sent to the president for approval.

The proposal amends Law 11.794/08, which establishes procedures for the scientific use of animals. From the date the changes are published, data obtained from animal testing will no longer be allowed to authorize the marketing of personal hygiene products, cosmetics, perfumes, or their ingredients.

The exception applies to cases where the test is obtained to comply with non-cosmetic regulations. To qualify for this exception, interested companies must provide documentary evidence of the non-cosmetic purpose of the test.

A manufacturer who is permitted to use new animal testing data may not include phrases such as “not tested on animals,” “cruelty-free,” or other similar expressions on the product label or packaging.

For the project's rapporteur, Congressman Ruy Carneiro (Pode-PB), maintaining animal experimentation as the dominant practice would represent not only an ethical failure, but a scientific setback. 

"Alternative methods to the use of animals – such as computational models, 3D bioprinting of tissues, organoids, and cell cultures – are becoming established as reliable, ethical, and often more effective tools," he stated.

The project allows the sale of these products and the ingredients that comprise them when testing has occurred before the effective date of the change.

*With information from the Câmara de Notícias Agency