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From April 2024, French people will be able to find out about the presence (or absence) of endocrine disruptors in products before purchasing them. An app can help them. Named Scan4Chem, this “Yuka” of endocrine disruptors is already available for download.
The procedure will have been long, but has only just been completed: since the publication of three ministerial decrees on October 12, manufacturers and brands will have to report the proven, presumed or suspected presence of endocrine disruptors in everyday products. These chemical substances which can act on the hormonal system are found in many everyday objects (toys, household products, cosmetics, etc.). From April 12, 2024, this information must be displayed for products whose concentration of endocrine disruptors is greater than 0.1% (as a mass percentage). This concerns both the product and its packaging. Manufacturers therefore have six months to communicate this information.
To facilitate access to this data, consumers are invited to download the Scan4Chem app and scan the barcodes of the products in question (directly in store or online). Free and associated with a centralized European database, the application not only allows you to find out about the presence of endocrine disruptors, but also to contact the manufacturer or brand of a product if this information is missing. ‘call. It was developed by the National Institute of the Industrial Environment and Risks (Ineris), as part of the European project LIFE Ask REACHwhich has the “general objective of improving the substitution of substances of very high concern (SVHC)”.
Available in France on Apple and Android and present in several European countries, the Scan4Chem application “ultimately aims to be the subject of more than 30 million requests”, specifies the Ineris website. The Institute nevertheless warns that, although this application is intended to “target the presence of substances of extreme concern with regard to their effects on health and the environment”, it was not however designed to “provide the exhaustive list of product components.