In the EU, for example, companies that produce tobacco products are required to submit the ingredients to a single electronic portal—EU-CEG—before starting production. This portal was created to reduce the administrative burden on companies and regulatory authorities and to make it easier to compare data. The tool was developed by the European Commission in close cooperation with 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.
Vialutions develops application as interface to the EU
We 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. Before production begins, the system then controls the registration with the EU, the transmission of the data, and the assignment of product IDs. Once the transmission is complete, the system reports back to SAP that production can begin with the respective product IDs.
Before the introduction of our system, this entire process was carried out using Excel spreadsheets, which was not only very time-consuming and prone to errors, but also posed a major security risk, as it involved the handling of 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.
Many industries are required to transfer data to the EU
There are various other industries in the European Union in which manufacturers are required 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). The IUCLID software is used for this purpose, 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 (LMIV). In Germany, ZENTRAG eG offers an LMIV portal for this purpose, which provides all the necessary information in a clear format and enables the management of product specifications.
Another industry that must regularly submit data to EU portals is the cosmetics industry. For this purpose, there is the CosIng database, a freely accessible database of the European Commission that provides information on cosmetic ingredients. Manufacturers can view and compare data on their products here.
Manufacturers of detergents and cleaning agents are also required to submit information about 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 industries. Developing interfaces between internal systems and these portals can help companies optimize the process and reduce administrative overhead.
We would be happy to automate your transfer process as well!