In the EU, for example, companies that produce tobacco products are obliged to submit the ingredients to a standardized electronic portal – EU-CEG – before the start of production. This portal was created to reduce the administrative burden for companies and regulatory authorities and to make it easier to compare data. The tool was developed by the European Commission in close cooperation with the member states and industry stakeholders and went live in May 2016. The aim is to quickly check whether a product complies with EU requirements before it goes into production.
We have developed a system for one of our customers that is located between their SAP system and the EU portal. When a new product is developed, the recipe for it is stored in SAP. Every night, this ingredient data is transferred from SAP to the system we developed. The system then controls the registration with the EU, the transfer of data and the allocation of product IDs before production begins. As soon as the transfer is complete, the system reports back to SAP that production can start with the respective product IDs.
Prior to the introduction of our system, this entire process was carried out using Excel sheets, which was not only very time-consuming and error-prone, but also represented a major security risk as it involved handling highly sensitive data. By using our system, which was individually adapted to our customer’s requirements, we were able to successfully implement another Excel killer project.
In the European Union, there are various other sectors in whichmanufacturers are obliged to regularly submit data on ingredients or products to specific EU portals.
One example of this is the chemical industry. Manufacturers and importers of chemical substances must submit data on the properties and uses of their chemicals to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in accordance with the REACH Regulation (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals). For this purpose, the software IUCLID is used, which enables the collection, storage and exchange of data on chemical substances.
Food manufacturers must also provide detailed information about their products in accordance with the Food Information Regulation (FIR). In Germany, ZENTRAG eG offers a LMIV-Portal , which provides all the necessary information in a clear format and enables the management of product specifications.
Another sector that regularly has to transmit data to EU portals is the cosmetics industry. Therefore the CosIng-database, exists – a freely accessible database of the European Commission that provides information on the ingredients of cosmetics. Manufacturers can view and compare data on their products here.
Manufacturers of detergents and cleaning products are also obliged to submit information on the composition of their products to the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR). Since 2021, this has been done via the European online portal ECHA Submission Portal in PCN format (Poison Centres Notification).
These examples illustrate that regular data transfers to EU portals are required in various sectors. The development of interfaces between internal systems and these portals can help companies to optimize the process and reduce the administrative burden.
We are also happy to automate your transmission process!