{"id":208,"date":"2026-04-14T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/makrolife-en-208"},"modified":"2026-04-14T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T09:00:00","slug":"pif","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/makrolife-biotech.com\/blog\/pif\/","title":{"rendered":"The Product Information File (PIF) for Cosmetics"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/figure>\n

The Product Information File \u2014 PIF for short \u2014 is the central compliance document for cosmetic products on the EU market. Article 11 of the EU Cosmetics Regulation (EC) No 1223\/2009 obliges the responsible person to maintain a complete, up-to-date, and readily accessible PIF for every cosmetic product placed on the market. It is not only a regulatory obligation but also the basis for an effective defence in the event of official inspections or product recalls.<\/p>\n

What Must the PIF Contain?<\/h3>\n

Pursuant to Article 11(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1223\/2009, the PIF must comprise at least the following elements: a description of the cosmetic product that allows the product to be identified by means of the finished product photograph and packaging design; the Cosmetic Product Safety Report (CPSR) under Annex I, which documents the safety assessment; a description of the method of manufacture together with a statement of compliance with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) pursuant to Article 8; where applicable, evidence of the claimed effect of the cosmetic product; and data on undesirable effects and serious undesirable effects.<\/p>\n

In addition, the PIF should contain information on stability, compatibility testing, microbiological quality, and the raw material specifications of the ingredients used. The PIF is not a static document: it must be updated whenever a significant change is made to the product, for example in the case of formulation adjustments, packaging changes, new safety data, or a change of supplier.<\/p>\n

Retention Obligations and Accessibility<\/h3>\n

The PIF must be kept for a period of ten years from the date on which the last batch of the cosmetic product was placed on the market. It must be accessible in electronic or paper form at an address within the EU that is indicated in the product information on the packaging. Upon request by national authorities or as part of a market surveillance action, the PIF must be able to be made available immediately and in full.<\/p>\n

A common mistake in practice is to regard the PIF as a purely formal document and to leave it unmaintained after its initial creation. An outdated PIF \u2014 one that, for example, still lists raw materials from a supplier that is no longer active, or contains a CPSR based on a formulation that is no longer current \u2014 is just as problematic in the event of an official enquiry as a missing PIF.<\/p>\n

Relationship with the CPSR and CPNP<\/h3>\n

The PIF, the CPSR, and the CPNP notification together form the regulatory foundation for placing cosmetic products on the EU market. The CPSR is part of the PIF and provides the safety-toxicological assessment of the product. The CPNP notification, in turn, presupposes a completed PIF and must consistently reflect the product information contained therein. Inconsistencies between these documents \u2014 such as diverging INCI lists \u2014 can lead to considerable problems during market surveillance.<\/p>\n

Makrolife Biotech as Your PIF Partner<\/h3>\n

Our team prepares complete, audit-proof Product Information Files for cosmetic products of all categories \u2014 from simple rinse-off products to complex leave-on formulations with active ingredients. We coordinate the preparation of all PIF components, carry out quality assurance, and ensure that the PIF is consistent with the CPSR and the CPNP notification. Get in touch to learn more about our PIF services.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n \u2190 Zur\u00fcck zum Blog<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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The Product Information File \u2014 PIF for short \u2014 is the central compliance document for cosmetic products on the EU market. Article 11 of the EU Cosmetics Regulation\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-regulatory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/makrolife-biotech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/makrolife-biotech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/makrolife-biotech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/makrolife-biotech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/makrolife-biotech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/makrolife-biotech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/makrolife-biotech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/makrolife-biotech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/makrolife-biotech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}