What does CCCR stand for?

CCCR stands for the Consumer Chemicals and Containers Regulations. The most current edition is from 2001. The CCCR, 2001 is the law governing consumer chemical products in Canada. This regulation does not apply to products that will be used solely in a workplace setting. The regulations set out five types of hazards that can apply to a consumer product: toxic, corrosive, flammable, quick skin-bonding adhesive and pressurized containers. Throughout the document, each type of hazard is described in detail, stating what criteria a product must fulfill in order to be classified as a specific hazard, and what statements must be disclosed on the label. Toxicity, corrosivity and flammability are divided into subcategories depending on the severity of the hazard and each hazard level has specific warning statements that must be enclosed on the label.

Each label must have all of the CCCR requirements on it, in both English and French, to be compliant. These include the appropriate hazard symbol(s), signal word, primary hazard statement, specific hazard statement(s), negative instructions, positive instructions and first aid statements. The regulations also set out specific size requirements and colour contrasts to apply to the label in question.

The regulations apply to all consumer products except those listed below, as these products are governed by other Canadian legislation and are not subject to the Consumer Chemicals and Containers Regulations:
Cosmetics
Drugs
Explosives
Food
Medical devices
Nuclear substances
Pest control products
Tobacco products

Need of Canadian Consumer Label Review Service

Canadian Consumer Label Review (CCCR) can be both complicated and time consuming. There are many regulations associated with the CCCR 2001 issued under the Hazardous Products Act. It is best to consult an organization that has the expertise with these rules and regulations to ensure the products are correctly classified and products will not be recalled due to improper classification, packaging and/or labeling.

There are services available to help organizations stay compliant with the ever changing consumer labeling regulations. Consulting services provide companies with expert interpretations, guidance and compliance with the GHS guidelines. Typically companies out pursuit GHS services to save time, save money and increase efficiency.

The person who classifies the product is responsible for the CCCR. So if the CCCR is not outsourced to a company of experts and the importer/distributor or manufacture of a consumer product decides to complete the CCCR in-house they will be obligated to assess and correctly classify, package and label the product (as per Parts 1 to 5 of the CCCR-2001). It is not the retailersresponsibility to ensure the product is packaged correctly. The person responsible for classifying the product is also responsible for providing the necessary information to a government inspector should there be a packaging concern or a product audit.

Need of Canadian Consumer Label Review Service

Canadian Consumer Label Review (CCCR) can be both complicated and time consuming. There are many regulations associated with the CCCR 2001 issued under the Hazardous Products Act. It is best to consult an organization that has the expertise with these rules and regulations to ensure the products are correctly classified and products will not be recalled due to improper classification, packaging and/or labeling.

There are services available to help organizations stay compliant with the ever changing consumer labeling regulations. Consulting services provide companies with expert interpretations, guidance and compliance with the GHS guidelines. Typically companies out pursuit GHS services to save time, save money and increase efficiency.

The person who classifies the product is responsible for the CCCR. So if the CCCR is not outsourced to a company of experts and the importer/distributor or manufacture of a consumer product decides to complete the CCCR in-house they will be obligated to assess and correctly classify, package and label the product (as per Parts 1 to 5 of the CCCR-2001). It is not the retailersresponsibility to ensure the product is packaged correctly. The person responsible for classifying the product is also responsible for providing the necessary information to a government inspector should there be a packaging concern or a product audit.

Why Do We Need CCCR?

CCCR stands for Canadian Consumer Label Review. In Canada, all hazardous chemicals are marketed in retail only when covered by CCCR 2001 – a regulation describes the health and safety norms. There are, however, certain exemptions to this. In case, any product is already controlled by a separate legislation as per Canadian law that could be an explosive, a cosmetic product, or a substance to control the pests then such a product is exempt from the CCCR.

The Canadian Consumer Label Reviews stipulation is that the retail label of a product must display certain information in order to ensure compliance with CCCR 2001. The information that needs to be so displayed is fairly exhaustive and includes the products identity that must appear in both English and French. The net quantity must be declared along with the dealers name and the place of location of the main business. These details must suffice to be rated as a postal address.

Some of the other details that are to be entered include the hazard symbol, the primary hazard statement and the specific hazard statement as well. The first aid instructions are to be detailed clearly including both positive and negative instructions. Depending on the full size of the display panel of the product, these foregoing statements and symbols shall also be displayed governed by a restriction in their sizes. CCCR stipulates that the hazard categories could be either as a toxic product, a corrosive product or a flammable product besides certain instant adhesives and pressurized containers.

An Introduction to CCCR

CCCR or Consumer Chemicals and Container Regulation, 2001 has introduced international best practices and safety norms in Canada. Earlier, consumers who were purchasing hazardous substances and chemicals off-the-shelf were not really aware of the best ways to keep and store them. Consequently, accidents on site and in warehouses were very common. However, the setting up of norms and regulations under this act has gone a long way in reducing such incidents. CCCR also provides guidelines to classify substances into various hazard categories. More importantly, the Act clearly identifies and classifies all such hazardous substances which were earlier not falling under the purview of any particular Act. This helps in reducing the ambiguity regarding their storage, handling and upkeep.

The CCCR guidelines

 
The Act starts with the classification of substances into categories like toxic, corrosive, flammable, volatile, etc. on the basis of their hazard potential. This helps in determining the set of norms to be followed for a particular substance, as per its category
Next, the Act aims at providing complete information about the product to the consumers through the labels put on the packaging of the product. This includes:

The name of the product in English and French with appropriate dimensions so that it can be read properly
The name of the supplier and the manufacturer along with the date and place of the origin
The quantity of the substance contained inside the package with high levels of accuracy
The hazard category of the substance with internationally recognized symbols and appropriate warnings

What is Consumer Chemical Container Regulation – 2001 (CCCR-2001)?

In Canada, the law which governs the labeling of consumer chemical products is the “Consumer Chemicals and Containers Regulation 2001” (CCCR-2001), which was established in 2001. Chemical products that must have a CCCR-2001 label review include all products which a consumer can buy through the retail distribution network. In that case the product must meet the requirements of the “Consumer Chemical Container Regulation, 2001” issued under the Hazardous Products Act.

A CCCR-2001 document in order to be compliant with Canadian regulations must contain the following:

1.Required text which must be in both official Canadian languages, French and English
2.Required symbols that must show on the label
3.Proper placement of phrases and symbols
4.Sizing requirements of the text and symbols

Referring to points 2 and 3, in order to use the applicable symbols and phrases, the author must first classify the product within one or more of the following applicable classes:

1.Toxic Products
2.Corrosive Products
3.Flammable Products
4.Quick Skin-Bonding Adhesives
5.Pressurized Containers
6.Irritating Products

Chemicals used exclusively in the workplace are excluded from the CCCR-2001 regulations. However, all chemical products available to the general public must meet the CCCR-2001 requirements, with a few exceptions. The following types of products are not subject to the Hazardous Products Act or its associated Regulations, since they are governed by the Canadian legislations and for this reason are not required to have a CCCR-2001 label review:

1.Cosmetics
2.Drugs
3.Explosives
4.Food
5.Medical devices
6.Nuclear substances
7.Pest control products; and
8.Tobacco products