RegASK regulatory intelligence experts highlight five regulatory trends that stood out across consumer products between 25 July and 25 August 2026.
Between 25 July and 25 August 2026, RegASK’s regulatory intelligence experts tracked regulatory developments affecting consumer products across multiple regions and categories.
Across the reporting period, five themes stood out for their regulatory momentum, geographic reach and potential impact on compliance teams: tighter chemical and ingredient controls, major changes to US food-additive oversight, increased food-safety enforcement, evolving labeling requirements, and greater scrutiny of supplements and functional products.
Chemical and ingredient restrictions are tightening across regions
Trend strength: High
Chemical and ingredient restrictions were among the most significant cross-regional developments during the reporting period, with activity across Europe, the EAEU, the Middle East, Latin America and North America.
In the EU, Commission Regulation (EU) 2026/909 introduced new restrictions affecting cosmetic ingredients, including the addition of triphenyl phosphate to Annex II. Other regulatory activity included updates to the INCI glossary, changes linked to the EU microplastics restriction and fragrance-allergen labeling requirements.
The EAEU also amended its cosmetic-safety technical regulation, with new restrictions due to apply from 28 October 2026. Brazil’s ANVISA also updated prohibited-ingredient requirements, while the EU continued regulatory activity involving pesticide maximum residue levels.
In the US, EPA also proposed Significant New Use Rules under TSCA covering additional chemical substances.
Taken together, these developments point to the same broader direction: multiple jurisdictions are tightening controls on substances used in consumer products at the same time.
What this means for regulatory teams
Ingredient compliance increasingly requires visibility across the full product portfolio.
Teams need to understand where individual substances are used, which markets are affected and when new restrictions or transition periods apply. A change in one jurisdiction may also signal growing regulatory attention elsewhere.
US food-additive oversight is entering a period of significant change
Trend strength: High
The US saw a concentrated series of developments affecting food additives during the reporting period.
FDA took regulatory action involving several long-standing color additives, including Orange B, Citrus Red No. 2 and FD&C Red No. 3.
Orange B and Citrus Red No. 2 were addressed on 22 July, followed by further action concerning FD&C Red No. 3 on 5 August.
The more structural development came on 11 August, when FDA proposed requiring notification for substances considered Generally Recognized as Safe, or GRAS.
If finalized, the proposal would change how GRAS substances are brought to FDA’s attention and reduce reliance on self-determined GRAS conclusions that are not submitted to the agency.
The significance extends beyond any individual additive. Together, these actions indicate greater regulatory scrutiny of both existing additive authorizations and the process used for introducing ingredients into the US food supply.
What this means for regulatory teams
Food and beverage companies should review how ingredient decisions are documented and how GRAS conclusions are managed internally.
Regulatory teams may also need greater visibility into ingredients already used across the portfolio, particularly where their regulatory status relies on historical authorizations or GRAS determinations.
Food-safety enforcement remains a major cross-market pressure
Trend strength: High
Food-safety enforcement was one of the most geographically widespread themes identified during the reporting period.
Listeria and Salmonella were linked to recalls, safety warnings and investigations in several markets, including Canada, the US and Europe.
US authorities also continued investigating a large multistate Cyclospora outbreak associated with produce.
Elsewhere, authorities took broader enforcement action. Rwanda carried out a series of closures involving alcoholic-beverage facilities and suspended 52 imported brands from six countries.
Saudi Arabia’s SFDA also reported significant enforcement activity. Border authorities refused entry to more than 300 tons of non-compliant food, while separate domestic inspections covered thousands of establishments and products under SFDA oversight.
The picture is broader than individual recalls. Regulators are examining risks across production, importation, distribution and the wider supply chain.
What this means for regulatory teams
Monitoring a company’s own recalls is no longer enough.
Contamination events involving suppliers, ingredients, neighboring product categories or other markets can provide early signals of potential regulatory and operational exposure.
Connecting food-safety intelligence with supplier and portfolio data can give teams more time to assess whether action is needed.
Labeling requirements are becoming more structured
Trend strength: Medium-high
Labeling developments during the reporting period covered allergens, front-of-pack nutrition, ingredient declarations and category-specific requirements.
One of the most significant developments came from Codex, which adopted international guidelines on precautionary allergen labeling.
The guidelines include reference doses for 21 allergenic foods, ranging from 1 mg for almonds to 200 mg for crustacea. They also establish a 4 mg gluten reference dose for cereals containing gluten, separate from wheat-allergy thresholds.
Codex guidelines are voluntary until adopted into national regulation, but they can provide an important reference point for future regulatory approaches.
National authorities are also examining labeling changes.
FSANZ consulted on changes involving Australia and New Zealand’s Health Star Rating system. Brazil continued work relating to quantitative ingredient declarations and irradiated-food labeling.
Across these developments, the direction is toward greater consistency, greater specificity and more information being required on pack.
Supplements are facing greater regulatory scrutiny
Trend strength: Medium
Supplements and functional products are also moving toward more structured oversight.
In Singapore, HSA consulted on mandatory pre-market notification for health supplements and certain traditional medicines, excluding traditional Chinese medicines.
HSA also revised its voluntary notification scheme to a company self-declaration model, effective 15 July 2026.
In Australia, the TGA continued regulatory activity involving supplements and their ingredients. This included safety communications and guidance covering ashwagandha, SARMs and NAD-related products.
TGA guidance also distinguishes between permitted and non-permitted ingredients in this category. Nicotinamide, nicotinamide riboside chloride and NMN are permitted in relevant circumstances, while ingredients such as NAD, NAD+ and NADH are not currently permitted.
Other regulatory actions during the period included enforcement involving potentially non-compliant or adulterated supplement products.
The broader direction is clear: supplements are receiving closer attention across notification, ingredient status, claims and post-market enforcement.
What this means for regulatory teams
Companies operating in supplements and functional products should expect closer scrutiny of both products and the evidence behind them.
Regulatory teams need visibility into ingredient status, notification obligations, permitted claims and emerging safety concerns across each market where products are sold.
What connects these five trends?
The individual regulatory developments vary, but together they point to a common shift.
Authorities are asking for greater visibility into what products contain, how their safety is established, what appears on the label and how companies respond when risks emerge.
For consumer product regulatory teams, that creates a growing need to connect regulatory intelligence with portfolio context.
Knowing that a regulation has changed is only part of the job. Teams also need to understand:
- which products, ingredients and markets are affected
- when new requirements take effect
- what labels, claims or documentation may need to change
- where enforcement activity may create wider portfolio risk
These five trends reflect the developments that stood out in RegASK’s regulatory monitoring between 25 July and 25 August 2026.
RegASK monitors regulatory developments across 160+ markets, supported by a global community of more than 1,800 regulatory experts, giving teams the intelligence they need to understand regulatory change, assess its impact and act across their workflows.
