Title 21Food and DrugsRelease 119-73

§364a Adverse events

Title 21 › Chapter CHAPTER 9— - FEDERAL FOOD, DRUG, AND COSMETIC ACT › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER VI— - COSMETICS › § 364a

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Companies that make, pack, or sell a cosmetic product must send the federal health official any report they get about a serious bad reaction that happened in the United States. They must send the report and a copy of the product label within 15 business days. If they learn important new medical facts about that same case within one year, they must send those facts within 15 business days too. The agency will make a way to let companies send one combined report for duplicates or updates. Companies must list a U.S. address, phone number, or email on the label so people can report problems. They must keep records of each report for 6 years. Small businesses that meet certain rules and don’t make or process certain products must keep records for 3 years. Authorized federal inspectors with proper credentials can look at those records during inspections. The federal official can make exceptions to these rules if they won’t harm public health. If the official has reason to think a fragrance or flavor ingredient caused a serious reaction, the company must give a list of those ingredients or categories within 30 days, and that information will be kept confidential under federal law. Any serious adverse event report, updates, or voluntary reports are treated as safety and personal medical records. Personal details must be removed before anything is released to the public. Reports may include a statement saying the company does not admit the product caused the event. The federal official can share reports with state health authorities under an agreement, but personal information given to states cannot be made public or given to others without written consent from the federal official and the company. Sending a report does not mean the company admits the product caused the reaction.

Full Legal Text

Title 21, §364a

Food and Drugs — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The responsible person shall submit to the Secretary any report received of a serious adverse event associated with the use, in the United States, of a cosmetic product manufactured, packed, or distributed by such person.
(b)(1)The responsible person shall submit to the Secretary a serious adverse event report accompanied by a copy of the label on or within the retail packaging of such cosmetic product no later than 15 business days after the report is received by the responsible person.
(2)The responsible person shall submit to the Secretary any new and material medical information, related to a serious adverse event report submitted to the Secretary in accordance with paragraph (1), that is received by the responsible person within 1 year of the initial report to the Secretary, no later than 15 business days after such information is received by such responsible person.
(3)The Secretary shall develop systems to enable responsible persons to submit a single report that includes duplicate reports of, or new medical information related to, a serious adverse event.
(c)The Secretary may establish by regulation an exemption to any of the requirements of this section if the Secretary determines that such exemption would have no significant adverse effect on public health.
(d)The responsible person shall receive reports of adverse events through the domestic address, domestic telephone number, or electronic contact information included on the label in accordance with section 364e(a) of this title.
(e)(1)The responsible person shall maintain records related to each report of an adverse event associated with the use, in the United States, of a cosmetic product manufactured or distributed by such person received by such person, for a period of 6 years, except that a responsible person that is considered a small business for the purposes of section 364h of this title, who does not engage in the manufacturing or processing of the cosmetic products described in subsection 364h(b) of this title, shall maintain such records for a period of 3 years.
(2)(A)The responsible person shall permit an authorized person to have access to records required to be maintained under this section during an inspection pursuant to section 374 of this title.
(B)For purposes of this paragraph, the term “authorized person” means an officer or employee of the Department of Health and Human Services who has—
(i)appropriate credentials, as determined by the Secretary; and
(ii)been duly designated by the Secretary to have access to the records required under this section.
(f)If the Secretary has reasonable grounds to believe that an ingredient or combination of ingredients in a fragrance or flavor has caused or contributed to a serious adverse event required to be reported under this section, the Secretary may request in writing a list of such ingredients or categories of ingredients in the specific fragrances or flavors in the cosmetic product, from the responsible person. The responsible person shall ensure that the requested information is submitted to the Secretary within 30 days of such request. In response to a request under section 552 of title 5, information submitted to the Secretary under this subsection shall be withheld under section 552(b)(3) of title 5.
(g)A serious adverse event report submitted to the Secretary under this section, including any new medical information submitted under subsection (b)(2), or an adverse event report, or any new information, voluntarily submitted to the Secretary shall be considered to be—
(1)a safety report under section 379v of this title and may be accompanied by a statement, which shall be a part of any report that is released for public disclosure, that denies that the report or the records constitute an admission that the product involved caused or contributed to the adverse event; and
(2)a record about an individual under section 552a of title 5 (commonly referred to as the “Privacy Act of 1974”) and a medical or similar file the disclosure of which would constitute a violation of section 552 of such title 5 (commonly referred to as the “Freedom of Information Act”), and shall not be publicly disclosed unless all personally identifiable information is redacted.
(h)(1)Nothing in this section shall affect the authority of the Secretary to provide adverse event reports and information to any health, food, or drug officer or employee of any State, territory, or political subdivision of a State or territory, under a memorandum of understanding between the Secretary and such State, territory, or political subdivision.
(2)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, personally-identifiable information in adverse event reports provided by the Secretary to any health, food, or drug officer or employee of any State, territory, or political subdivision of a State or territory, shall not—
(A)be made publicly available pursuant to any State or other law requiring disclosure of information or records; or
(B)otherwise be disclosed or distributed to any party without the written consent of the Secretary and the person submitting such information to the Secretary.
(3)Nothing in this section shall permit a State, territory, or political subdivision of a State or territory, to use any safety report received from the Secretary in a manner inconsistent with this section.
(4)The submission of any report in compliance with this section shall not be construed as an admission that the cosmetic product involved caused or contributed to the relevant adverse event.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Construction

ConfidentialityNothing in section 3502 of Pub. L. 117–328, which enacted this section, to be construed to authorize the disclosure of information that is prohibited from disclosure under section 331(j) of this title or section 1905 of title 18 or that is subject to withholding under section 552(b)(4) of title 5, see section 3503(c)(2) of Pub. L. 117–328, set out as a note under section 364 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

21 U.S.C. § 364a

Title 21Food and Drugs

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73