At the 26th Cosmed Regulatory Congress in early April 2026, Marie Magnan and Catherine Apolinario, both international regulatory affairs managers, presented an overview of cosmetic inspections and controls carried out around the world. Here is a summary of the second part of their presentation, covering China, South Korea, Japan and Vietnam.
China
Since the CSAR came into force, the country has seen a significant shift in its approach to market regulation, moving from a system of pre-market product approval by the authorities to post-market surveillance carried out by the NMPA (National Medical Products Administration).
Imported cosmetics are also subject to customs checks by the General Administration of Customs at points of entry.
NMPA controls
Every year, the NMPA publishes a sampling report, which provides an overview of the products on the market that have been tested.
Most often, the authorities focus on companies that have frequent problems or those that are the subject of consumer complaints. They also focus on certain categories, such as children’s products and, specifically, ‘special use’ products (anti-stain, anti-acne, anti-wrinkle), products that are used frequently or contain new ingredients… Furthermore, around 21,000 batches are inspected and tested each year to check for the presence of heavy metals, hormones and banned ingredients, or to carry out microbiological analyses: the reported compliance rates are around 97–98%.
NMPA inspections
The NMPA also carries out inspections at industrial sites. During campaigns carried out in late 2023 and early 2024, typical non-compliances included the use of prohibited raw materials, …
