Unique Formula Identifier

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The Unique Formula Identifier ( UFI ) or unique recipe identifier is a 16-digit alphanumeric code that will be required on the labels of products that contain a hazardous mixture from 2025. It will be introduced by amending the CLP Regulation (Annex VIII) for 2020.

The UFI encodes the company's VAT number or its own company number and a formulation number from 0 to 268.435.455 (2 ^ 28-1). This is to ensure that the UFI is only used once in the economic area. Example for the indication of a UFI on the label: UFI: R3NN-3KVT-2XSG-W43J

In addition to providing the UFI information on their labels, companies are also required to provide information about their mixture and related products to poison centers . The information includes details such as trade name, composition, color, packaging, product category and toxicological information. The transfer takes place solely electronically by means of the PCN ( P Oison C enter N otification). The aim of the UFI is to create a clear link between the information made available to the poison control center and the product that is put on the market.

The condition for the assignment of a UFI is that all products that are labeled and reported with the same UFI must have the same mixture composition.

The UFI and the other information provided by the companies are used by Poison Centers in the event of an emergency call . The UFI can be read directly from the label of a product and communicated to an employee of a poison control center in addition to the trade name in order to precisely identify the product involved in an incident. This should enable better and more appropriate medical care and a reduction in unnecessary over-treatment, which is often only given for safety.

A UFI can be generated on the website of the European Chemicals Agency or, for Switzerland, on the website of the Chemicals Registration Office. The algorithm is freely available to software developers.

Structure and special features

A 74-bit number is created from the information. The first 28 bits represent the formulation number, followed by 3 bits for the country group and then the coding for the country and the VAT number in binary form. Sales tax numbers with letters (such as Cyprus, Spain, France or Great Britain) are converted separately. This binary number is converted into a base 31 number with 15 digits.

The first 12 digits are swapped according to a scheme and then a leading check digit is calculated.

Base 31 is made up of the digits 0–9 and the letters A – Y, whereby the following five letters are not used for reasons of confusion: B (~ 8), I, L (~ 1), O (~ 0) and Z ( ~ 2). Compared to the hexadecimal system, a decimal value of 12 does not correspond to "B" but to "C". The decimal value 30 corresponds to "Y" in the Base-31 character set .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Regulation (EU) 2017/542 of the Commission of March 22, 2017 amending Regulation (EC) No. 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the classification, labeling and packaging of substances and mixtures by adding an annex on the harmonized information for emergency health care
  2. ↑ Unique recipe identifier (UFI). ECHA, accessed on February 16, 2019 .
  3. ↑ UFI (unique recipe identifier). Common Notification Office for Chemicals, accessed on February 18, 2019 .
  4. ^ UFI Developers Manual. ECHA, accessed on February 5, 2020 .