Industrial enzymes are used in a variety of applications, some of which require their registration under the so-called REACH Regulation* .
Pre-registration takes place during 1 June – 1 December 2008, full registration from 1 December 2010 or later, depending on tonnage.
REACH requires, subject to certain exceptions, multiple registrants of the same substance to share data and jointly submit part of the relevant registrations. Manufacturers and importers of enzymes, recognizing that enzyme registration under REACH will benefit from being discussed and coordinated, have created a pre-consortium with the overall purpose of facilitating a smooth REACH implementation, hereunder by creating effective data sharing processes and a reduction of associated costs.
The pre-consortium intends to discuss and develop a harmonized approach to aspects such as nomenclature and classification, sameness, read-across and data waiving.
The approach will be based on the common features that are shared by all enzymes. Unlike many chemicals, enzymes are a unique set of substances that have predictable properties. For instance, all enzymes are classified as respiratory sensitizers, regardless of their biological source and catalytic activity.
The Enzyme REACH Pre-consortium operates with two kinds of membership:
- Full members, which are Manufacturers, Importers and/or Only Representatives of one or more enzymes, who are subject to the registration requirements pursuant to REACH;
- Associate members, which are Downstream Users, Distributors, industry associations, manufacturers not established within the European Union, and/or third party holding information on enzyme Substances (Data Holder), who are not subject to the registration requirements pursuant to REACH but who have an identified and reasonable interest in contributing to the achievement of the Pre-consortium goals.
Inquiries regarding membership of the Enzyme REACH pre-consortium can be made to its coordinator:

Mr. Youri Skaskevitch
Telephone: +32 (0)2 740 29 62
E-mail: coordinator@enzymes-reach.org