Essential Aspects of Filling Stations for Cosmetic Products in the Retail Trade

In the wake of a discussion about a possible saving of packaging materials, systems for the filling of cosmetic products in the retail trade are partly available. Of course all conditions imposed by the EC Cosmetics Regulation as well as the supplementary national regulations in Germany and Austria apply also to the products sold in this form. For these filling stations it is, however, necessary to attach special attention to compliance with the Cosmetics GMP conditions. In these cases the filling, which is subject to high hygienic requirements in industrial production, is outsourced to the retail trade. This is why comprehensive, robust hygiene concepts are necessary in particular for these systems. The authors have put together some essential aspects which need to be complied with when using such filling stations. In this

connection it was taken into account that the organisation of the filling process in the retail trade can be designed quite differently in detail. It is necessary to consider both filling stations which are offered to customers for self-service as well as stations which are operated by retailer staff.