FDA-TRACK: Office of the Chief Scientist Dashboard
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FDA's Office of Chief Scientist (OCS) provides strategic leadership, coordination, and expertise to support scientific excellence, innovation, collaboration and capacity to achieve FDA's public health mission. Explore the progress OCS is making towards it's strategic priorities on the FDA-TRACK website.
Office of Cosmetics and Colors
FDA reviews color additive regulatory packages to assist with enforcement actions that are related to potentially violative color additives in food and cosmetics. Using electronic management systems allows FDA to minimize the time that potentially harmful products stay on the market by expediting FDA action on those items.
Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), many color additives intended for use in FDA-regulated products are subject to batch certification by FDA. This means that FDA chemists have analyzed a sample from the batch and have found that it meets the requirements for composition and purity stated in the regulation for that color additive.
FDA determines the need for batch certification based on whether the color additive needs this level of control to protect the public health. Some color additives, in their uncertified forms, might contain impurities at levels that pose a health concern. Certified color additives generally have three-part names consisting of a group of letters (“FD&C,” “D&C,” or “Ext. D&C”), a color, and a number. An example is “FD&C Yellow No. 5.” Using an uncertified form of a color additive that requires FDA certification makes an FDA-regulated product adulterated under the law, and FDA can take action against the product. For example, color additive violations are a common reason for import refusals of food and cosmetic products offered for entry into the United States. For additional information, visit the color certification home page.
FDA protects public health more effectively by informing and engaging with consumers and other stakeholders. FDA is maximizing this engagement by increasing our use of social media, responding promptly to press and constituent inquiries, and translating safety and regulatory resources into other languages. These outreach efforts enable consumers to make better informed decisions in purchasing and using cosmetics, while also assisting the increasingly global industry in achieving compliance with U.S. safety and labeling requirements.
Download FDA-TRACK OCS & OCAC Dataset
Note: The data provided on this website are produced on an ongoing basis for performance management purposes and are subject to change due to updates of preliminary estimates, corrections, or other reasons.