Refer to enclosed information (the hand in a book)
Some of the information the law requires is not printed on the pack itself because it would not fit: the warnings or the ingredient list are on an enclosed or attached leaflet, label, tape, tag or card.
How to read it
Look for a fold-out label, a paper tag on a string, a leaflet in the box or a peel-back layer on the label. On a lipstick or a small nail varnish, the ingredient list may be on the outer carton or on a tag. For soap, bath balls and other small products where even a tag is impractical, Article 19(3) moves the ingredient list to a notice right next to the product on the shop shelf.
What it does not promise
It does not promise that the product is dangerous or needs special care: it only says that the precautions or the ingredients are printed elsewhere. It does not replace the information either — the leaflet or tag must actually carry the precautions and the full ingredient list.
This page explains what a symbol or mark on the pack means in law or in the scheme’s own rules. It is not advice on whether a product or an ingredient is safe for you or suits your skin: for that, read the product’s warnings and ask a pharmacist or doctor.
- What it looks like
- An open book with a hand pointing at, or resting on, its pages. It is not the book with a letter i used on medical devices.
- Legal reference
- Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, Article 19(2) and Annex VII point 1
- Also called
- hand in book symbol; open book with hand; see leaflet symbol
Good to know
Article 19(2) says where the symbol goes: on the container or packaging when it points to the precautions for use, and on the packaging when it points to the ingredient list.
Related
Sources
Each document was fetched and read on the date shown. Written in our own words; quotations are the documents’ wording.
- Legal text — EU Official Journal text, reproduced by legislation.gov.uk (The National Archives): Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 — Article 19, Labelling (as adopted) — Article 19(2): where it is impossible for practical reasons to label the precautions (point d) and the ingredients (point g), ‘the information shall be mentioned on an enclosed or attached leaflet, label, tape, tag or card’, referred to by ‘the symbol given in point 1 of Annex VII’. Article 19(3) covers soap and bath balls. Checked 2026-09-26.
- Legal text — EU Official Journal text, reproduced by legislation.gov.uk (The National Archives): Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products — Annex VII, Symbols used on packaging/container (as adopted) — Annex VII point 1: ‘Reference to enclosed or attached information’ — the official drawing of the hand and book. Checked 2026-09-26.