Baby

To ensure that all food and beverages on our platform are safe and pose no health risks to our customers, you must comply with legal requirements and regulations. This applies to all consumer target groups.

• Which items do we allow?
  • Food items (human & animal) with a shelf life of at least 100 days after arrival at our customers;
  • Food items for which a suitable product category is available;
  • The mandatory food content must be clearly displayed on the label in the language of the country where it is sold. This means, at minimum, in Dutch for items for the Dutch market and in French and Dutch for items for the Belgian market.
• Which items do we not allow?
  • Private label items from other supermarkets. For example, items from Albert Heijn's house brand;
  • Food items that require refrigeration or freezing;
  • Fresh or dried animal products intended for human consumption;
  • Items, including composite food packages, where the exact contents of the packaging are not specified;
  • Food and beverages containing CBD. CBD is only permitted in supplement form. See the CBD policy for more information;
  • Alcoholic beverages with an alcohol percentage higher than 1.2%. See the Alcoholic Beverages policy for more information;
  • Items with poorly substantiated product claims that do not fit within our policy on product claims.

Legal Obligations

In addition to the above guidelines that apply on the bol platform when selling food items, you must also be aware of the legal obligations that you, as a provider, must meet. Pay close attention to the following points:

• The GTIN/EAN of the item must be registered with GS1. The complete label content must also be available in a GS1 GDSN data pool. This is GS1 Data Source (Netherlands) or GS1 My Product Manager (Belgium). For more information, go to our page at GS1 Netherlands or here at GS1 Belgium.
• For items with animal ingredients, the manufacturer must be registered as a food business in the EU (issued by the NVWA in the Netherlands or the FASFC in Belgium);
• Food items from outside the EU must also be available in a GS1 GDSN data pool and must comply with the conditions for imported products from outside the EU. More information can be found here;
• Only approved food enhancers and additives may be used in the items. More information is available here from the NVWA.

Production Safety

To confirm that your items comply with the guidelines and do not involve food fraud, we may request production documentation, among other things. This must demonstrate compliance with HACCP, such as the food safety plan and hygiene regulations of the product manufacturer. As soon as there is a serious suspicion that a product range is dangerous for the customer, your product range may be temporarily taken offline while we assess the (potentially) dangerous items.

Food Supplements

Food supplements are only permitted if they comply with the above obligations and guidelines. Additional laws and regulations also apply:

• Food and beverages may only contain permitted amounts of certain food supplements (and may not become medicinal products). This also applies to food and beverages for specific consumer target groups, such as babies and toddlers, people with allergies or illnesses, and people who are losing weight. Stricter rules apply here for permitted amounts of certain food supplements.
• Please note: it is prohibited to claim on the label, packaging, or in advertising that the food supplement prevents, treats, or cures a disease.
• Selling food supplements in Belgium? See the self-care policy for more information;

Do you sell bulk packaging?

Ensure you make this clear to the customer. For example, by showing the item in bulk packaging in the main image and clearly stating ‘multi-pack’ or ‘bulk packaging’ in the product title. Also, make sure the product characteristic ‘Packaging Level’ is filled in, and that the official EAN belonging to the bulk packaging (as registered with GS1) is used.

We use CE & ECE markings to show that your items meet the safety, health, and environmental requirements. This marking is even required for most items sold in the European Union (EU). Read more about CE marking.

To ensure that our customers receive controlled organic items, and that we comply with laws and regulations concerning organic items, we have set additional conditions for the use of the SKAL label.

What is SKAL and what does it mean for selling organic items?

SKAL is an independent administrative body that monitors the organic production process. It checks whether everything is processed, sold, and registered correctly.

Within the product categories of foodstuffs, food supplements, animal feed, plants, and flower bulbs, the term 'organic' is a protected term. It may only be used for controlled items. These items are recognizable by the European Organic Label, also known as 'the green leaf'. The Agriculture Biologique, Demeter, and EKO labels also meet SKAL's requirements. Therefore, these labels may also display the green leaf on the items. Every company that sells these items to our customers via our platform must register. bol may only offer and sell certified organic items. This means that both the intermediary and the producer must be certified.

For this certification, the items must comply with:

1. The EU Organic Regulation.
2. The Dutch Agricultural Quality Act.
3. The regulations and principles of SKAL Bio control.

1. Ensure that your company is SKAL certified to trade organic items
2. Ensure that your storage of the items meets the SKAL storage requirements
3. Request here the sustainability label 'European Organic Label', 'Agriculture Biologique', 'Demeter' or 'EKO' so that your organic product range is properly labeled on our website.
4. The SKAL code NL-BIO-01 must be visible on the invoice to customers. To get the SKAL code on your invoice, it is important that the SKAL code (NL-BIO-01) is included in the title of the organic item. By placing the code in the title, the code will automatically appear on the invoice to the customer. We recommend placing the code at the end of the title.

We want to work with you to ensure we offer our customers safe cosmetic items. To do this, we must adhere to the applicable legislation for cosmetic items in the EU, NL, and BE. To make this easier, we have compiled the information and guidelines below. Please ensure you are aware of the legal requirements for selling cosmetics.

“Any substance or mixture intended to be placed in contact with the external parts of the human body (epidermis, hair system, nails, lips and external genital organs) or with the teeth and the mucous membranes of the oral cavity with a view exclusively or mainly to cleaning them, perfuming them, changing their appearance, protecting them, keeping them in good condition or correcting body odours” (Article 2.1a of the Cosmetics Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009.).

To prevent the bulk purchase and resale of items within our beauty offer, customers have a limit of 9 items per EAN per order. This ensures that items do not end up in grey markets, which refers to the trade of items through unofficial distribution channels. This rule applies to the item categories listed below.

To ensure customer safety, the Cosmetics Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 mandates that every item must be assessed and deemed safe by a qualified safety assessor before being sold. The responsible organization (also known as the Responsible Person) is an individual or company and must always be able to present a valid Cosmetic Product Safety Report (CPSR) from the safety assessor. This report must state that the item is safe and complies with all legal safety requirements.

As a check, we may ask you to provide this safety assessment. Cosmetics must be manufactured and packaged according to strict hygiene rules (ISO 22716), which cannot simply be done in a kitchen.

If there is a serious suspicion that your offer may be dangerous to the customer, we may temporarily take your items offline. We do this to assess the potentially dangerous items. The responsible organization for the item is obliged to ensure that the correct documentation is available, for example, when an item assessment is required.

It is, of course, not permitted to offer items containing prohibited ingredients, such as Lilial (BUTYLPHENYL METHYLPROPIONAL). Some substances may be present in limited quantities. Cosmetics Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 contains lists of:

• Prohibited substances (Annex II)
• Substances allowed in cosmetic items with specified limits (Annexes III, IV, V, and VI)

Regulation (EU) 2024/996 provides an update to the 2009 regulation. It states that several substances, from a certain point in time (see date in parentheses), may only be present in a lower concentration in a cosmetic item:

• Retinol (Retinyl Acetate and Retinyl Palmitate) (1 May 2027)
• Arbutin (Alpha-Arbutin) (1 November 2025)
• 4-Methylbenzylidene Camphor (1 May 2026)
• Genistein (1 November 2025)
• Daidzein (1 November 2025)
• Kojic Acid (1 November 2025)
• Triclosan (31 December 2025)
• Triclocarban (31 December 2025)

The regulation addresses these INCI names and details the new permitted maximum for each substance. It is important that you comply with this.

These lists of substances and rules change regularly. Ensure that you keep the safety assessment (CPSR) updated if there are changes to the item and/or legislation. This way, you ensure that your items do not contain any recently prohibited substances and remain within the set limits. Also, make sure that the packaging and online information are updated with the latest requirements for content, usage instructions, and warnings. Use the DIY Compliance Manager to check if your ingredients comply with current laws and regulations.

For items (mostly sunscreens) containing Octocrylene and Benzophenone-3, maximum concentrations apply. This means the following:

• Benzophenone-3 may be used up to a maximum concentration of 6% as a UV filter in items for the face, hands, and lips, with the exception of items in aerosol dispensers and spray pumps;
• Benzophenone-3 may be used up to a maximum concentration of 2% as a UV filter in body items, including items in aerosol dispensers or spray pumps;
• In other items, Benzophenone-3 may be used as a UV filter up to a maximum concentration of 0.5%;
• The use of Octocrylene as a UV filter in items in aerosol dispensers may be used up to a maximum concentration of 9%;
• The use of Octocrylene as a UV filter in other items may be used up to a maximum concentration of 10%.

Additionally, it is mandatory to label items containing Benzophenone with the warning text: “Contains Benzophenone-3.”

Do you have questions about the maximum concentrations of substances in your items? Please ask your supplier. More information can be found on the EU website.

For every cosmetic item, mandatory information about the item and its safe use must be available to the customer on the item itself, on the outer packaging, and, for online sales, on the item's sales page. If it is not possible to label the packaging, a small card with information can be added. The following minimum mandatory information must be accessible to customers (and authorities) on the item, its packaging, and the online sales page:

• the cosmetic function of the item (e.g., body lotion, baby shampoo, etc.);
• ingredients (in INCI nomenclature);
• manufacturer's name & address;
• country of origin;
• nominal content (in g or ml);
• number of pieces in packaging;
• shelf life of unopened item;
• period after opening (in months);
• item language;
• instructions and warnings for safe use (e.g., for hair dyes)

For cosmetics, it is mandatory to list the ingredients; for this, you use the attribute Ingredients. A clear and correct ingredient list is mandatory, so that everyone can understand the composition of the cosmetic item. The list must be drawn up in descending order of weight at the time of addition to the cosmetic item. The ingredients must be listed with the correct INCI names (International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient). The European ingredient database Cosmile provides information about cosmetic ingredients. This allows customers with ingredient-specific allergies, for example, to easily identify the ingredients.

To be allowed to sell a cosmetic item in the EU, it must have a responsible party (also known as the Responsible Person) with an address within the EU, and the item must be registered by the Responsible Person in the central EU system (Cosmetic Product Notification Portal, CPNP). Do you make cosmetic items yourself? Or are you the person/company that imports items from outside into the European Union? In that case, you are automatically the responsible party according to the law, unless this responsibility has already been taken over by another person/company (notifying party and mention on the label). If you are responsible, ensure that your items comply with all requirements AND that your items are correctly registered (notified) in the CPNP. Unregistered cosmetic items may not be sold in the EU. To confirm that your items comply with the guidelines, we may, among other things, request confirmation of the CPNP registration from you.

For cosmetic items, no claims or advertising statements may be made, either on the label or on online sales pages, that conflict with the basic criteria described in Regulation 655/2013 and its associated guidelines. This Regulation states that claims must comply with all legal requirements and that claims must not mislead the customer or any other end-user. Essentially, claims must meet the following criteria:

• Compliance with legal requirements
  Do not claim that an item complies with legal requirements.
• Accuracy
  If it is claimed that an item contains a certain ingredient, this ingredient must also be present in the item. Statements about the properties of a specific ingredient must not create the impression that the final item also possesses those properties when this is not the case.
• Evidence Claims must be supported by sufficient and verifiable evidence.
• Honesty
  It is not permitted to claim specific characteristics if similar items have the same characteristics. If the function of an item depends on its use in combination with another item, this must be clearly indicated. Claims may not go beyond what can be substantiated.
• Fairness
  Claims must be objective and must not be derogatory towards ingredients or competitors.
• Informed decision-making
  Statements must be clear, accurate, relevant, and understandable for the average end-user. Claims must also contain information that enables end-users to make an informed choice.

Go to your seller account. Select "Items" and set a filter:

• on the above item categories under Item category/label and on
• Content Weak (offline) and Weak (online)

There's a new safety standard for car seats: R129 (i-Size). As of September 1, 2023, R44 car seats may no longer be sold via bol in the EU. The use of R44 car seats is not prohibited. Only remaining stock may be sold via bol until September 2024.

A playpen (also called a ground playpen) consists of several panels made of, for example, metal, wood, or plastic. By connecting the panels, you enclose an area on the floor where small children can play. As a partner, you are responsible for the safety of this item and must comply with the European General Product Safety Directive 2001/95/EC (you can find more information on the NVWA website).

This directive protects consumers from unsafe or dangerous items by sharing general safety requirements and principles. There are no specific legal requirements for playpens, but we recommend that you adhere to the guidelines. To demonstrate compliance with the guidelines, you can, for example, apply the following standards (depending on the design of the playpen):

• Playpens for domestic use (NEN-EN 12227)
• Articles for infants and young children - safety barriers (NEN-EN 1930)
• Safety of toys (NEN-EN 71 part 1, 2 and 3)

Please note: If toys are attached to the playpen, the playpen must comply with the legal requirements for toys.