Safety Data Sheets (SDS): global compliance starts here
Your foundation for chemical safety, regulatory compliance, and supply chain confidence.
A high-quality Safety Data Sheet (SDS) is more than just a regulatory requirement, it is the cornerstone of chemical safety and compliance. Every organisation that handles, manufactures, or distributes chemical products must ensure that accurate, up-to-date SDSs are readily available. These documents are essential to inform workers, end users, emergency responders, and regulatory bodies of potential hazards and safe handling practices, minimising risk to people, assets, the environment, and your reputation.
An incomplete or poorly structured SDS can lead to:
- Delays in market access
- Rejected Poison Centre Notifications (PCNs)
- Supply chain disruptions
- Ineffective incident response.
Emergency services and poison centres depend on SDSs to assess chemical risks and guide immediate action in critical situations. Errors or omissions can compromise safety and increase liability.
On the other hand, a well-prepared SDS ensures regulatory alignment, supports seamless PCN submissions, and instils confidence across the supply chain, demonstrating a company’s commitment to safety, accuracy, and compliance.
Our Comprehensive SDS Services
Ricardo offers a full suite of SDS services to ensure your chemical products comply with global regulations and are ready for emergency response:
- SDS Authoring:
- Creation of new SDS, including Extended SDS (eSDS) incorporating REACH exposure scenarios.
- Region-specific formatting and classification based on local GHS adaptations.
- Translation Services:
- SDS translations in over 40 languages required by country-specific regulations.
- Regional compliance, including WGK classification (Germany), Korean MoE rules, and Latin American standards.
- Ongoing SDS Maintenance:
- Regular SDS reviews to keep pace with regulatory developments like REACH ATP updates or GHS revisions
- Proactive updates in response to:
- New hazard or risk information
- Granted or refused authorisations
- Imposed restrictions (REACH Article 31 requirements)
Ricardo recommends SDSs be reviewed at least every two years to ensure accuracy, especially amid active enforcement initiatives like ECHA's REF-11 project, which focuses on Annex II-compliant SDSs across the EU.
- SDS Review & Gap Analysis:
- Independent technical assessments to verify compliance
- Checks for structural integrity, completeness, UFI codes, and PCN-readiness
- Label Production & Transport Support:
- CLP and transport labels authored with DGSA oversight
- UFI code generation, inventory management, and transport classification assistance
Our team has long-standing relationships with regulators such as ECHA, OSHA, and national competent authorities, keeping us at the forefront of regulatory developments.
Emergency Telephone Numbers: Beyond Basic Compliance
Under REACH Section 1.4, SDSs must include a valid emergency number and if an official advisory body exists (such as a Poison Centre) then you must include this number.
Many companies rely on Poison Centre numbers, which are typically restricted to medical professionals and not equipped to support broader chemical incidents such as chemical spills which can expose organisations to significant supply chain risks.
Ricardo provides a 24/7 global emergency response helpline, operating in local languages and aligned with Level 1 Chemical Emergency Response standards and Responsible Care® principles.
Including our emergency number:
- Enhances your SDS compliance
- Reassures users
- Enables fast, informed incident response in any geography
Learn more about our emergency response service >
Maintaining compliance
Under Article 31 of REACH, suppliers must update SDSs without delay when:
• New information on hazards or risk management becomes available,
• An authorisation is granted or refused,
• A restriction is imposed.
Given the pace of regulatory change, Ricardo recommends SDSs be reviewed and updated at least every two years to ensure classifications and safety information remain accurate and compliant.
Keeping up to date with regulatory changes can be a challenge for organisations. Maintaining regulatory compliance requires regular inventory reviews combined with up-to-date regulatory knowledge, which can be both time-consuming and complex.
Chemical Compliance Monitor supports organisations with their regulatory burden and reduces the time, expense and resource required to understand the complex requirements and changes for the supply and use of chemical substances.
Learn more about our CCM Service>
Dangerous Goods Safety Advisor (DGSA) Services: Supporting SDS Accuracy and Transport Compliance
Safety Data Sheets are critical for communicating chemical hazards, but their role doesn’t end at the factory gate. For companies involved in the transport of dangerous goods, SDS content must align with labelling, packaging, and classification requirements under regulations such as ADR (Europe) and IMDG/IATA for global shipments.
Learn more about our DGSA Service>
Why Partner with Ricardo?
Trusted compliance support from industry-recognised experts.
- In-house regulatory specialists, toxicologists, and DGSAs
- Long-standing relationships with ECHA, OSHA, and national authorities
- Proven SDS and PCN support across chemical, pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and consumer sectors
- Scalable services for everything from individual SDS creation to portfolio-wide compliance management
