Candles have a magical way of enhancing our surroundings, creating a cozy ambiance, and filling our spaces with delightful fragrances. However, when it comes to creating your own brand of candles, ensuring the safety of your candles is essential. One of the crucial pieces of candle legislation needed is UFI (Unique Formula Identifier) numbers. In this blog post, we will discuss UFI numbers, specifically concerning candles, and their significance to the safety of the consumer.
What Is A UFI number?
A UFI number is a unique 16 digit code assigned to a specific mixture or formulation of a product. It serves as a crucial tool for poison centres to identify the exact composition of a hazardous product. It enables them to provide emergency responders appropriate advice and assistance in case of an emergency. Regulatory bodies are becoming more stringent on candle legislation by extending UFI numbers to candles to enhance safety standards.
Why Are UFI Numbers Important For Candles?
Candles, despite their tranquil presence, are essentially a controlled source of fire. Therefore, it is essential for manufacturers and candle makers to generate UFI numbers for their products and register them with the poison center, ECHA. You must provide detailed information about the composition of each product to ensure regulatory bodies can identify the exact formulation of your candle, providing valuable insights into potential hazards, ingredients, and handling instructions. In the event of a mishap or accident, emergency responders can read the UFI directly from the label to the poison centre operator. They can identify the specific ingredients involved in the incident and give targeted advice and treatment.
What Information Does A UFI Number Convey?
When it comes to candles, the UFI number discloses crucial details about the candle’s specific formulation. You must include information about the various components, such as wax types, dyes, fragrance percentages, the vessel, packaging and additives used in the candle-making process. This information is kept confidential. It is not possible to decode the UFI number to gain access to the mixture competition of your products. Only poison centres will have access to this information.
Where To Display The UFI Number?
The ECHA states, “The UFI must be printed on or affixed to the label of all your products containing hazardous mixtures.” We recommend positioning your UFI number on the CLP label and that both the CLP and UFI are visible at the point of purchase. Our diagram below shows the positioning of the UFI number and CLP information you must legally provide on your candles.
The ECHA have stated, “For mixtures not already on the market, your obligations to submit hazardous information and place the UFI on the label will apply from 1 Jan 2021(consumer or professional use)”. Check out ECHA videos for a quick summery of UFI numbers.
At Bespoke Candles we have helped many candle brands establish their candle ranges. We understand that making sure you are following the correct candle legislation can be daunting. That’s why we offer our expert guidance and legislation services to all our clients. We ensure that every product we manufacture meets safety standards by testing each product to European standards and following the correct legislation. You can learn more about our services here or contact us to start your candle creation journey today.
If you’d like to read our previous candle testing blog where we discussed wick mushrooms click here.
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