News Details
East African Community Adopts New Standards for Skincare, Hair Dye, and Mosquito Repellents
The East African Community (EAC) comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda has officially adopted six new East African Standards (DEAS) covering various skincare, hair dye, and mosquito repellent products. According to a notification circulated by the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade on 29 July 2025, these measures were endorsed by the EAC Council of Ministers on 2 July 2025. The updated standards aim to harmonize product specifications across the region, ensuring improved consumer safety, quality assurance, and market consistency.
Summary of Newly Adopted Standards:
Standard Code & Year | Title | Part / Edition | Brief Description |
DEAS 1205-2:2024 | Skincare special purpose product: Specification-Sunscreen | Part 2, First Edition | Sets requirements for sunscreen products, focusing on formulation, safety, and labelling to ensure adequate sun protection. |
DEAS 1205-1:2024 | Skincare special purpose product: Specification-Anti-aging | Part 1, First Edition | Defines specifications for anti-aging skincare products, ensuring efficacy claims are supported and products are safe for use. |
DEAS 461-2:2023 | Hair dye: Specification-Aryl di-amine-based liquid oxidation | Part 2, First Edition | Establishes standards for liquid oxidation hair dyes using aryl di-amines, addressing quality, safety, and permissible ingredient limits. |
DEAS 461-1:2023 | Hair dye: Specification-Aryl diamine-based formulated powder | Part 1, Third Edition | Updates the standard for powdered hair dyes using aryl diamines, ensuring safe formulation and consistent product quality. |
DEAS 1119-3:2023 | Skin applied mosquito repellents: Specification-Wipes | Part 3, First Edition | Specifies safety and performance requirements for mosquito repellent wipes, including active ingredient levels and skin compatibility. |
DEAS 1119-4:2023 | Skin applied mosquito repellent: Specification-Bathing soap | Part 4, First Edition | Details formulation and quality criteria for mosquito repellent bathing soaps to ensure effective protection and safe skin application. |
Implications for Stakeholders :
Manufacturers & Importers: Must align product formulations, labelling, and safety testing with the new standards before market entry in EAC countries.
Regulators: Will have a unified reference point for market surveillance and enforcement, reducing cross-border compliance issues.
Consumers: Benefit from improved product safety, performance reliability, and clearer labelling information.
These measures form part of the EAC’s ongoing efforts to strengthen regional trade harmonization while safeguarding public health, as reflected in the WTO notification.
We acknowledge that the above information has been compiled from WTO.
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