GB 26396-2026 "Safety Technical Specification for Detergents" was issued on April 30, 2026, and will take effect on May 1, 2027, completely replacing GB/T 26396-2011. One key change is that the new version is a mandatory national standard, whereas the 2011 version being replaced was a recommended national standard. There is still a preparation window before implementation, but the more product lines and complex packaging versions there are, the more it is necessary to implement the requirements in advance for specific SKUs.
The first step is to establish a SKU applicability table. Laundry powder, laundry liquid, kitchen cleaners, bathroom cleaners, and other specialized cleaning products differ in formulation, usage, packaging, and sales channels. Companies need to list product names, formulation versions, production bases, implementation standards, packaging specifications, production status, and expected inventory one by one, rather than just writing 'standard version update in progress' at the company level.
The second step is to consolidate the raw material specifications and supplier documents into a single table. The same raw material name does not mean that different suppliers, batches, or grades can be directly substituted. The procurement, R&D, and quality teams should check the current raw material specifications, supplier technical documents, change notifications, and incoming inspection items to determine which changes may trigger a review of the formula, testing, or labeling.
The third step is to arrange the testing methods and laboratory capabilities. GB/T 47545-2026 "Determination of Chloroform and Other Halogenated Hydrocarbons in Detergents by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry" related to detergent safety control will be implemented on November 1, 2026. It is a standard for testing methods and does not mean that all products need to indiscriminately test all target substances; however, companies should confirm the sample scope, method applicability, laboratory capabilities, and reporting cycles as early as possible to avoid discovering at the stage of mass production or shipment that the testing plan cannot be aligned.
The fourth step is to check the synchronized revision of raw material standards. GB/T 12028-2026 "Sodium Carboxymethyl Cellulose for Detergents" will also be implemented on November 1, 2026. Only formulas that actually use the corresponding raw materials need to be checked accordingly; individual raw material standards cannot be extrapolated to all products. For SKUs involving this raw material, the supplier specifications, inspection items, and finished product versions should be managed together.
The fifth step is to lock in the labels and packaging versions in advance. Standard names, execution information, warning statements, responsible parties, net content, barcodes, and multilingual content all occupy limited space. If you wait until the old packaging materials are about to run out to revise them, it can easily lead to conflicts in design, approval, printing, and production schedules. A safer approach is to mark each packaging version with the applicable SKU, approval date, activation point, and the quantity of old inventory.
The production date and inventory clearance also need to be planned separately. The Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision Administration's public response to consultations on the implementation of the new standards reminds enterprises to follow the contents of the published mandatory national standards. The actual arrangements should still be determined in combination with the transition provisions in the official standard texts, production dates, and inventory status, and cannot rely solely on web Q&A to replace a full clause review.
For OEM/ODM projects, standard conversion also involves collaboration between the brand owner and the manufacturer. EPHYON's open service process covers requirement communication, formulation and plan, sample confirmation, packaging, production, inspection, and delivery. Taking the 'target SKU—formulation version—raw material information—testing plan—packaging version—production batch' as a common confirmation list allows the brand owner, R&D, procurement, quality, and production to work around the same version.
The value of this type of matrix lies not in adding tables, but in exposing conflicts in advance: whether the same formula corresponds to multiple packaging versions, whether old packaging materials can be consumed as planned, whether supplier information has been updated, whether the laboratory has sufficient time, and whether label information matches production nodes. The earlier problems are discovered, the easier they are to resolve through scheduling, procurement, or design adjustments.
The specific technical requirements of GB 26396-2026 should be based on the official standard text, and the testing items should also be determined in conjunction with the product's applicable scope and formulation. To determine whether a specific product meets the new standard, R&D, quality, and regulatory personnel need to confirm each item based on the valid standards, actual formulation, raw material information, and production plan.