Restricted Substances Search

What is TraceGains Networked Intelligence?

Networked Intelligence is a suite of apps available for purchase to TraceGains Gather® Pro and Enterprise users. In partnership with SGS DigiComply, TraceGains offers the Regulatory Global app which includes Regulatory Global, Country Guides, and Restricted Substances.

Networked Intelligence Map

TraceGains Gather® >Intelligence

• Horizon Scanning Global
  • Alerts
  • Food
  • Suppliers
  • Dietary Supplements
• Regulatory Global
  • Country Guides
  • Regulations
  • Restricted Substances (<--You are here)
• Claims Management

What is Restricted Substances Search?

Regulatory Global: Restricted Substances is an add-on data subscription/search tool available to TraceGains Gather® Pro and Enterprise users. Restricted Substances allows users to search and monitor use limits of substances across one or many products and/or markets. Limit types include food additives, pesticides, heavy metals, nutrients, mycotoxins, microbiological, physical contaminants, compositional, contaminants, and veterinary drugs.

This article will walk you through all the main functions so you can take full advantage of this robust data sourcing tool.

Recommended Layered Approach to Finding Limits

It’s important to understand the layered approach we recommend when searching for restricted substances data. Because there may be a high volume of information from a variety of sources for any given search, a calculated research approach will yield the best results for you and your organization.

We highly recommend including as many Markets, Products, and Substances as you can within your search to discover the most relevant results.

Please remember that it’s common to not find what you’re looking for on the first search. Sometimes, limits don’t exist for a set of search criteria. Keep tweaking the search criteria using the following layered approach:

1. Initial Search:

• Enter appropriate Market(s), Product(s), Substance(s) and/or additional filters. Initial search typically yields appropriate limits you’re looking for, but sometimes limits do not actually exist for a set of search criteria. That’s okay!
  • Try adjusting one or more of the search criteria:
    • Does going up or down in either the product or substance taxonomies get you closer?
    • Does removing an additional filter get you there?
    • If no, proceed to Step 2

2. Refer to Relevant Regulations Section

• These are the regulations that are relevant to the market(s), product(s), or substance(s) of your search
• If unsuccessful, proceed to Step 3

3. Refer to Country Guides 

• These are the country guides associated with the market(s) you searched.

Using this layered approach will help you understand why their search didn’t yield a result. If you explored Steps 1-3 without success, then the limit likely does not exist.

Navigate to Restricted Substances Search

Step 1: Login and navigate to your TraceGains Gather® group.

Step 2: Click the Intelligence drop-down and select Search.

Step 3: In the Restricted Substances box, click the Find Restricted Substances button.

Step 4: Select at least one search parameter, between Markets, Product, and/or Substance.

Step 5: Apply filters (strongly recommended). Read on to the next section for detailed information about available filters.

Step 6: Review the results. For information about filtering and refining the results, refer to the Layered Approach section above.

Step 7: If the search finds matching limits, click any link within the Matching Limits column for an overview.

If available, you can click View Post within the Restriction Details menu to open the post in another tab.

If the search finds Relevant Regulations, click the corresponding links to view the article source in another tab.

Filter and Sort Options

When searching Restricted Substances, filters are crucial to narrow down the results and find the most relevant information.

Industry

• Food & Feed (default)
• Cosmetics, Personal Care and Household

Search Type

• Smart Search: Expands search to all applicable substances & products. Ex. “Apple” will also include codex product labeled “Pome Fruits”.

A note from DigiComply:

"Regulations often use different names or groupings of commodities to describe the same product. For example, Codex defines the limits of pesticides residues on 'Pome Fruit' which includes 'Apple', while the United States defines the limit directly for 'Apple', therefore when you perform a search, we recommend to check the relations available for that term in order to understand the different potential association used to describe a product or commodity."

• Keyword-based search: Uses specific keywords for substances and products selected. 

Type of Limit

Food additives, pesticides, heavy metals, nutrients, mycotoxins, microbiological, physical contaminants, compositional

Regulatory Type

• Regulation: Restriction was sourced from regulatory documents other than GMP.
• Good Manufacturing Practice: Restriction was sourced for the guidelines recommended by agencies that regulate the manufacture and sale of products.

Regulatory Status

• Draft: Not yet in use
• In Force: Currently used and enforced.
• No Longer in Force: Not used nor enforced.

Restriction Type

• Restriction: Substance is approved for use in specified product given limiting conditions
• Exemption: Substance is approved for use in specified product in any reasonable amount
• Ban: Substance is prohibited for use in specified product

Save and Share Results

The Restricted Substances search conveniently has an Add Watchlist button so that you can save, share, and watch the results of your search. Simply click the Add Watchlist button and enter a name for your Watchlist.

To access your Watchlists, select ‘Intelligence > Watchlists’.

To share a Watchlist, use the ellipsis button in the grid, select Share, and select the desired user(s).