Sami Alsager
Saudi Food and Drug Authority, Saudi Arabia
Title: Cosmetics regulations in Saudi Arabia
Biography
Biography: Sami Alsager
Abstract
Pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, medical device and food were scattered between different government organizations before the establishments of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) in 2004. It took the SFDA about ten years to take all the responsibility in these years the SFDA built the infra-structure and invest heavily in the training and education by sending its young generation employee to the best universities in the west. Also during this time a lot of laws, regulations and guidelines based on best international practices were written and went through the approval processes. One of these laws is the cosmetics law which is in the final stages of the approval processes. The cosmetics law will be the first in the region, and Saudi Arabia will be the first to have a comprehensive law covering all aspects of cosmetics regulations, to cover the huge market of cosmetic products which is around 2 billion dollar; some of these products are manufactured locally and some are imported from all over the world, with a market open the necessity for a good regulatory system. a system that will control the cosmetic product at the points of entry (borders) as well as in the local manufacturers until it reaches the consumer by establishing a good notification system, Cosmovigilance, developing cosmetic products safety guidelines and establishing good labs that will analyze the product to be sure it fits the standards and no hazardous material been used. In this presentation all aspects of cosmetic regulations in Saudi Arabia will be discussed.