Chapter IGENERAL, Article 2 · Regulation (EU) 2026/405

Contents

Article 2Definitions#

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:

(1)‘detergent’ means a substance, mixture or micro-organisms, or a combination thereof, which are intended:

—to clean fabrics, dishes or surfaces,

—to soak (pre-wash), rinse or bleach fabrics, dishes or surfaces,

—to modify the feel or odour of fabrics in processes which are to complement the washing of fabrics,

—to support the cleaning process when used together with a laundry detergent or an automatic dishwasher detergent;

(2)‘consumer laundry detergent’ means a detergent for laundry placed on the market for use by non-professionals, including in public laundrettes;

(3)‘consumer automatic dishwasher detergent’ means a detergent placed on the market for use in automatic dishwashers by non-professionals;

(4)‘detergent containing micro-organisms’ means a detergent to which one or more micro-organisms have been intentionally added, either on their own or via one of the components of the detergent;

(5)‘industrial and institutional detergent’ means a detergent placed on the market for use only outside the domestic sphere, carried out by specialised personnel;

(6)‘cleaning’ means the process by which an undesirable deposit is degraded or dislodged from a substrate or from within a substrate and brought into a state of solution or dispersion;

(7)‘substance’ means a substance as defined in Article 3, point (1), of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006;

(8)‘mixture’ means a mixture as defined in Article 3, point (2), of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006;

(9)‘micro-organism’ means a micro-organism as defined in Article 3(1), point (b), of Regulation (EU) No 528/2012;

(10)‘genetically modified micro-organisms’ means micro-organisms in which the genetic material has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or by natural recombination; within the terms of this definition:

—genetic modification occurs at least through the use of the techniques listed in Part 1 of Annex I A to Directive 2001/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council^note,

—the techniques listed in Part 2 of Annex I A to the same Directive are not considered to result in genetic modification;

(11)‘surfactant’ means any organic substance or mixture contained in or intended to be used in detergents which has surface-active properties, and which consists of one or more hydrophilic and one or more hydrophobic groups of such a nature and size that it is capable of performing all of the following actions:

—reduce the surface tension of water below 45 mN/m,

—form spreading or adsorption monolayers at the water-air interface,

—form emulsions, microemulsions or micelles, or combinations thereof,

—adsorb at water-solid interfaces;

(12)‘end-user surfactant’ means a surfactant made available on the market to professional users or consumers;

(13)‘ultimate aerobic biodegradation’ means the level of biodegradation achieved when the substance or mixture is totally used by micro-organisms in the presence of oxygen, resulting in its breakdown to carbon dioxide, water and mineral salts of any other elements present, as measured by test methods listed in Part A of Annex I, and new microbial cellular constituents (biomass);

(14)‘films’ means water-soluble polymeric films used as detergents capsules;

(15)‘making available on the market’ means any supply for distribution, consumption or use on the Union market in the course of a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge;

(16)‘placing on the market’ means the first making available on the Union market;

(17)‘manufacturer’ means any natural or legal person that manufactures or has a detergent or a surfactant designed or manufactured, and that places that detergent or surfactant on the market under their name or trade mark;

(18)‘authorised representative’ means any natural or legal person established within the Union that has received a written mandate from a manufacturer to act on its behalf in relation to specified tasks;

(19)‘importer’ means any natural or legal person established within the Union that places a detergent or surfactant from a third country on the Union market;

(20)‘distributor’ means any natural or legal person in the supply chain, other than the manufacturer or importer, that makes a detergent or surfactant available on the market;

(21)‘economic operator’ means the manufacturer, authorised representative, importer or distributor;

(22)‘market surveillance’ means the activities carried out and measures taken by market surveillance authorities to ensure that products comply with this Regulation;

(23)‘market surveillance authority’ means a market surveillance authority as defined in Article 3, point (4), of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020;

(24)‘recall’ means a recall as defined in Article 3, point (22), of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020;

(25)‘withdrawal’ means a withdrawal as defined in Article 3, point (23), of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020;

(26)‘corrective action’ means a corrective action as defined in Article 3, point (16), of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020;

(27)‘release for free circulation’ means the procedure laid down in Article 201 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013;

(28)‘data carrier’ means a data carrier as defined in Article 2, first paragraph, point (29), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1781;

(29)‘unique product identifier’ means a unique product identifier as defined in Article 2, first paragraph, point (30), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1781;

(30)‘unique formula identifier’ means a unique formula identifier as referred to in Part A, point 5, of Annex VIII to Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008;

(31)‘unique operator identifier’ means a unique operator identifier as defined in Article 2, first paragraph, point (31), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1781;

(32)‘digital product passport’ means a set of data specific to a product that contains the information set out in Part A of Annex VI and that is accessible via electronic means through a data carrier in accordance with Article 21(4);

(33)‘digital product passport service provider’ means a digital product passport service provider as defined in Article 2, first paragraph, point (32), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1781;

(34)‘customs authorities’ means customs authorities as defined in Article 5, point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013;

(35)‘EU Customs Single Window Certificates Exchange System’ means the system established by Regulation (EU) 2022/2399;

(36)‘individual packaging’ means packaging in which the detergent or end-user surfactant is made available on the market and which is intended to accompany the content to the place of use;

(37)‘refill’ means the on-site operation by which a detergent or surfactant offered by an economic operator to end-users in the course of a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge, is filled in a packaging;

(38)‘refill station’ means a place where an economic operator offers to end-users a detergent or surfactant that can be acquired through refill, either manually or through automatic or semi-automatic equipment;

(39)‘model’ means a type of detergent or surfactant all of whose units meet the following conditions:

—having the same manufacturer and placed on the market under the same trade name,

—having the same content, in accordance with Part A, point 1(h), of Annex V to this Regulation, and manufactured using the same manufacturing processes,

—where applicable, being subject to the same classification under Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, and

—being defined by a type number or other element allowing them to be identified as a group;

(40)‘end-user’ means any natural or legal person residing or established in the Union to whom a detergent or surfactant has been made available on the market, either as a consumer outside of any trade, business, craft or profession or as a professional end-user in the course of its industrial or professional activities.