General. Unless contact lens solutions used, for example, to clean, disinfect, wet, lubricate, rinse, soak, or store contact lenses and salt tablets or other dosage forms to be used to make any such solutions are packaged in tamper-resistant retail packages, there is the opportunity for the malicious adulteration of these products with risks both to individuals who unknowingly purchase adulterated products and with loss of consumer confidence in the security of the packages of over-the-counter (OTC) health care products. The Food and Drug Administration has the authority and responsibility under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the act) to establish a uniform national standard for tamper-resistant packaging of those OTC products vulnerable to malicious adulteration that will improve the security of OTC packaging and help assure the safety and effectiveness of the products contained therein. A contact lens solution or tablet or other dosage form to be used to make such a solution for retail sale that is not packaged in a tamper-resistant package and labeled in accordance with this section is adulterated under section 501 of the act or misbranded under section 502 of the act, or both.

Requirement for tamper-resistant package. Each manufacturer and packer who packages for retail sale a product regulated as a medical device that is a solution intended for use with contact lenses, e.g., for cleaning, disinfecting, wetting, lubricating, rinsing, soaking, or storing contact lenses or tablets or other dosage forms to be used to make any such solution shall package the product in a tamper-resistant package, if this product is accessible to the public while held for sale. A tamper-resistant package is one having an indicator or barrier to entry which, if breached or missing, can reasonably be expected to provide visible evidence to consumers that tampering has occurred. To reduce the likelihood of substitution of a tamper-resistant feature after tampering, the indicator or barrier to entry is required to be distinctive by design or by the use of an identifying characteristic (e.g., a pattern, name, registered trademark, logo, or picture). For purposes of this section, the term “distinctive by design” means the package cannot be duplicated with commonly available material or through commonly available processes. A tamper-resistant package may involve an immediate-container and closure system or secondary-container or carton system or any combination of systems intended to provide a visual indication of package integrity. The tamper-resistant feature shall be designed to and shall remain intact when handled in a reasonable manner during manufacture, distribution, and retail display.

Labeling. Each retail package of a product covered by this section is required to bear a statement that is prominently placed so that consumers are alerted to the tamper-resistant feature of the package. The labeling statement is also required to be so placed that it will be unaffected if the tamper-resistant feature of the package is breached or missing. If the tamper-resistant feature chosen to meet the requirement in paragraph (b) of this section is one that uses an identifying characteristic, that characteristic is required to be referred to in the labeling statement. For example, the labeling statement on a bottle with a shrink band could say “For your protection, this bottle has an imprinted seal around the neck.”

Requests for exemptions from packaging and labeling requirements. A manufacturer or packer may request an exemption from the packaging and labeling requirements of this section. A request for an exemption is required to be submitted in the form of a citizen petition under § 10.30 of this chapter and should be clearly identified on the envelope as a “Request for Exemption from Tamper-resistant Rule.” A petition for an exemption from a requirement of this section is required to contain the same kind of information about the product as is specified for OTC drugs in § 211.132(d) of this chapter.

Products subject to approved premarket approval applications. Holders of approved premarket approval applications for products subject to this section are required to submit supplements to provide for changes in packaging to comply with the requirement of paragraph (b) of this section unless these changes do not affect the composition of the container, the torque (tightness) of the container, or the composition of the closure component in contact with the contents (cap liner or innerseal) as these features are described in the approved premarket approval application. Any supplemental premarket approval application under this paragraph is required to include data sufficient to show that these changes do not adversely affect the product.

Effective date. Each product subject to this section is required to comply with the requirements of this section on the dates listed below except to the extent that a product's manufacturer or packer has obtained an exemption from a packaging or labeling requirement:

Initial effective date for packaging requirements. (i) The packaging requirement in paragraph (b) of this section is effective on February 7, 1983 for each contact lens solution packaged for retail sale on or after that date, except for the requirement in paragraph (b) of this section for a distinctive indicator or barrier to entry.

The packaging requirement in paragraph (b) of this section is effective on May 5, 1983 for each tablet that is to be used to make a contact lens solution and that is packaged for retail sale on or after that date.

Initial effective date for labeling requirements. The requirement in paragraph (b) of this section that the indicator or barrier to entry be distinctive by design and the requirement in paragraph (c) of this section for a labeling statement are effective on May 5, 1983 for each product subject to this section packaged for retail sale on or after that date, except that the requirement for a specific label reference to any identifying characteristic is effective on February 6, 1984 for each affected product subject to this section packaged for retail sale on or after that date.

Retail level effective date. The tamper-resistant packaging requirement of paragraph (b) of this section is effective on February 6, 1984 for each product subject to this section that is held for sale at retail level on or after that date that was packaged for retail sale before May 5, 1983. This does not include the requirement in paragraph (b) of this section that the indicator or barrier to entry be distinctive by design. Products packaged for retail sale after May 5, 1983, are required to be in compliance with all aspects of the regulations without regard to the retail level effective date.

A document published at 48 FR 41579, Sept. 16, 1983, stayed the effective date of § 800.12(f)(3) until further notice.