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The UFI links a product on the shelf to its Poison Centre Notification. It is a small string on the label that, in an emergency, lets a Poison Centre look up the exact composition. The mechanics are simple. The governance, when you have hundreds of formulations, is not.
Quick answer
A UFI (Unique Formula Identifier) is a 16-character alphanumeric code derived from a company VAT number and a chosen formulation number, generated using ECHA's UFI Generator tool. It is printed on the label of any hazardous mixture placed on the EU market and on the corresponding Poison Centre Notification. Identical formulations may share a UFI; distinct formulations must use distinct UFIs. The same UFI can be reused across many SKUs that share the exact composition.
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See how Worldover worksThe UFI is computed from a company's VAT number and a freely chosen formulation number (an integer the company assigns). ECHA's UFI Generator applies a deterministic algorithm and returns a 16-character alphanumeric string, displayed in four groups of four separated by hyphens. The same inputs always produce the same UFI, which is why composition discipline at source matters more than the code itself.
The UFI is printed on the product label, preceded by the prefix \"UFI:\". Where the label is too small (small packs, outer packaging), the UFI may appear on the package leaflet or on the inner packaging. The UFI also goes on the harmonised Poison Centre Notification submitted via the ECHA Submission Portal.
A new UFI is required when the composition of the mixture changes outside the concentration ranges allowed by Annex VIII, or when you choose to differentiate two formulations that were previously identical. A new UFI without a corresponding new or updated PCN submission is non-compliant.
Worldover for this
Worldover generates the UFI from your substance master, ties it to the PCN submission and reissues it when composition changes. Labels stay in sync without manual tracking.
See chemical compliance softwareA single brand with many SKUs across several Member States can end up managing hundreds of UFIs. Worldover generates UFIs from the substance master, prints them on labels and ties each UFI to its PCN submission and to the affected SDS records. When composition changes, the new UFI, the new notification and the new label all happen together.
Every hazardous mixture placed on the EU market needs a UFI on the label that matches the composition declared in the corresponding PCN submission. Any meaningful change to composition or supplier triggers a new UFI, a fresh notification and an artwork update across every affected SKU.
Worldover generates UFIs against the composition record and ties each one to the PCN submission, the label artwork and the SKUs that carry it. When a composition or supplier changes, affected UFIs and notifications surface automatically and Willow drafts the artwork and submission updates for review.
FAQs
Related
Who must notify, what data is required and how UFI fits in.
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