The company says it is particularly focusing on the specific stipulations for pre-registration, which require that all companies trading in chemicals must register between June 1 and November 30 this year with the European Chemicals Agency.
REACH came into effect in January of this year and aims to enhance the safety and accountability of all chemicals produced, imported and traded within the European Union.
Pre-registration 'crucial'
Pre-registration is particularly crucial because it means that companies can continue to manufacture and import chemicals within the EU for the next few years, until the deadline for the programme is reached.
In order to meet registration requirements, companies manufacturing and trading in chemicals within the region must ensure that the substances they trade in meet both environmental and safety standards.
Fenchem says it is currently in the process of pre-registering for REACH and says that the successful completion of this should cause a minimum of disruption to its customers in the European Union.
At the beginning of this month Fenchem announced that it was making a significant move to diversify its business beyond nutritional food ingredients and into cosmetic ingredients.
Cosmeceuticals foray
It made its first foray into the cosmeceutical world relatively recently by targeting a number of its food extract ingredients at this growing segment of the market.
The company, which last year set up a US branch in California and also has a European site in Norway, says it will further expand into cosmetics with the launch of the cosmetic grade HyaMax Sodium Hyaluronate.
Although many of the company's food-based products have already been used to manufacture cosmetic products – including its G-Tea green tea extract and Grapfruit grape seed extract – this is the first time it has launched an ingredient dedicated to the personal care arena.
The cosmetic grade HyaMax can be used for a spectrum of cosmetics, including creams, lotion, cosmetic water, facial washes and bathing products, as well as an agent for shampoos, protection mousse and lipstick.
Although the launch is global, the company says it is expecting sales for cosmetic grade HyaMax to be particularly strong in the US, where it has already secured more than 40 per cent of the market share for its food grade sodium hyaluronate.