European Chemicals Agency Publishes Guidance on Avoiding Animal Testing

June 2010

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), which oversees the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical Substances (REACH) chemical testing program, published guidance specifically designed to help chemical manufacturers avoid animal testing while meeting the requirements of REACH. The publication of the new “Practical Guide on How to Avoid Unnecessary Animal Testing” followed a meeting with ECHA that was organized by PETA and PETA UK. The new guide not only emphasizes the explicit obligation that animal testing must be a “last resort” but also contains information on available alternatives to animal tests, such as the sharing of existing data between companies to prevent duplication of tests, the use of “read across” data from similar chemicals, and the use of technical mechanisms such as computer models and in vitro methods.