ISO Publishes Guidance on Voluntary Labeling for Consumer Products Containing Manufactured Nano-Objects

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has published Technical Specification (TS) 13830:2013, “Nanotechnologies — Guidance on voluntary labelling for consumer products containing manufactured nano-objects.” The purpose of the guidance “is to provide a framework to facilitate a harmonized approach for the voluntary provision of labelling for [consumer products containing manufactured nano-objects (PCMNO)] that may or may not exhibit or impart nanoscale phenomena.”  ISO notes that the TS is a “voluntary guidance on conveying specific product information that a manufacturer may choose to disclose on product labels and is not intended to provide mandatory labelling requirements, which are established by relevant regulatory authorities.” The TS is not applicable to consumer products containing naturally occurring nano-objects that were not subjected to manufacturing processes, nor does it apply to consumer products containing nano-objects that are incidentally present. A preview of the standard is available on the ISO website, and the complete standard may be purchased online.