The European AskREACH project is rolling out a consumer phone application to provide information about the presence of substances of very high concern (SVHCs) in consumer products. The free application “Scan4Chem” allows consumers to scan the barcode of products, retrieve available information on SVHCs it contains, and to formally request this information from companies responsible to provide it.
A press release from the Danish Ministry for Environment informed that the application will be available for download across EU countries and in many EU languages. Use of a central database will allow consumers from different countries to see requests made from other EU consumers on each product and to review any information provided by companies. Companies can choose whether or not to provide the requested information via the application’s central database. However, if they choose not to, they are still required to provide it to the consumer in another way.
Article 33 of the REACH regulation requires companies, when requested, to provide free of charge information on the presence of SVHCs in their products when the concentration is greater than 0.1% by weight. They must also provide information for safe use of the product.
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AskREACH (November 26, 2019). “Scan4Chem app for checking substances of very high concern in products launched.”
Clelia Oziel (January 21, 2019). “App to detect SVHCs in articles launched across EU.” Chemical Watch
Ministry of Environment and Food Denmark (January 21, 2019). “Ny app hjælper millioner af europæere til at vælge varer uden skadelig kemi.” (in Danish)
