Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing, browsing, or using IngredientCompliance at ingredientcompliance.com ("the Service"), you agree to be legally bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). These Terms constitute a binding agreement between you and Gerim-Sterling LLC ("we," "us," or "our"). If you access the Service on behalf of a company or other legal entity, you represent that you have authority to bind that entity to these Terms. Use of the Service by minors under 18 is prohibited.

2. Description of Service

The Service provides automated screening of ingredient names against publicly available regulatory databases, including but not limited to: FDA MoCRA, 21 CFR, FDA EAFUS, FDA GRAS notices, FDA Prop 65 listings (administered by OEHHA), EU E-number regulations, EU Annexes, NIH Upper Intake Levels, Japan MHLW standards, and Korea MFDS guidelines. The Service covers cosmetic, food, and dietary supplement ingredients.

Results are generated algorithmically from our database. They are reference outputs only. The Service does not review your specific formulation context, intended use, product category, label claims, concentration levels, or supply chain — all of which materially affect regulatory classification. A result from this Service cannot substitute for a jurisdiction-specific regulatory analysis.

3. NOT Legal, Regulatory, or Professional Advice

THE SERVICE DOES NOT PROVIDE LEGAL ADVICE, REGULATORY ADVICE, COMPLIANCE ADVICE, MEDICAL ADVICE, OR ANY OTHER FORM OF PROFESSIONAL ADVICE.

All results, reports, citations, status labels, confidence scores, and classifications generated by the Service are for informational and preliminary screening purposes only. They do not constitute a determination of your product's regulatory status, safety, or legality in any jurisdiction.

You must consult a qualified regulatory attorney, FDA-registered regulatory consultant, or licensed compliance professional before making any decision about product formulation, ingredient selection, labeling, marketing claims, distribution, import, or export. Do not rely on any output of this Service as a final compliance determination.

We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the FDA, FTC, OEHHA, EMA, EFSA, MHLW, MFDS, or any government agency or regulatory body.

4. Data Accuracy and Currency

Regulatory databases change without notice. Ingredient status, concentration limits, labeling requirements, and enforcement postures may be amended, reclassified, or withdrawn at any time by the relevant regulatory authority. We make reasonable efforts to keep our database current but do not guarantee real-time accuracy, completeness, or correctness of any result.

You assume all risk of relying on any output from the Service. We expressly disclaim all liability for decisions made based on Service outputs, including product launches, reformulations, label changes, or regulatory submissions.

5. Accounts, Access Tiers, and Payments

The Service is available under three access tiers:

• Anonymous (no account): 2 lifetime checks, up to 2 ingredients per check. No registration required.
• Free account (Google OAuth): 3 lifetime checks, up to 10 ingredients per check. No payment required.
• Starter and above: Unlimited checks and ingredients. Light: 20 checks / month. One-time payment via PayPal required.

Paid reports are one-time purchases and do not auto-renew. You agree to provide accurate and complete information during checkout. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts for abuse, scraping, reverse engineering, or circumventing access controls.

6. No Refunds

ALL SALES ARE FINAL. WE DO NOT OFFER REFUNDS, CREDITS, OR CHARGEBACKS FOR ANY PAID REPORT PURCHASE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

By completing a purchase, you acknowledge that: (1) you have reviewed the description of the report tier before purchasing; (2) digital delivery of the report begins immediately upon payment confirmation; and (3) you waive any right to a refund. This no-refund policy is clearly stated at the point of purchase. If you believe a purchase was made in error, contact us at [email protected] within 24 hours — we will review but are under no obligation to issue a refund.

7. Disclaimer of Warranties

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, WE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, TITLE, ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, TIMELINESS, AND ANY WARRANTY THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE.

WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT: (A) ANY RESULT OR REPORT IS ACCURATE, COMPLETE, OR CURRENT; (B) THE SERVICE WILL IDENTIFY ALL COMPLIANCE ISSUES IN YOUR FORMULATION; (C) RELIANCE ON THE SERVICE WILL SATISFY ANY REGULATORY REQUIREMENT; OR (D) THE SERVICE IS FREE OF ERRORS, BUGS, OR SECURITY VULNERABILITIES.

8. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, GERIM-STERLING LLC, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, AND SUCCESSORS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY:

• INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES
• LOST PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, OR BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
• PRODUCT RECALL COSTS, REGULATORY FINES, OR ENFORCEMENT ACTION COSTS
• LEGAL FEES, CONSULTANT FEES, OR REMEDIATION COSTS
• PERSONAL INJURY OR PROPERTY DAMAGE ARISING FROM USE OF THE SERVICE
• DAMAGES ARISING FROM RELIANCE ON ANY REPORT, RESULT, OR CLASSIFICATION

THIS APPLIES WHETHER THE CLAIM IS BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY, OR ANY OTHER THEORY, AND EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

IN ALL CASES, OUR TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY TO YOU SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF: (A) THE TOTAL AMOUNT YOU PAID TO US IN THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR (B) USD $50.00.

9. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Gerim-Sterling LLC and its officers, directors, employees, contractors, and agents from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to: (a) your use of the Service; (b) your violation of these Terms; (c) your violation of any applicable law or regulation; (d) any product, label, or formulation decision you make based on Service outputs; or (e) any third-party claim arising from your use of our reports or results.

10. Prohibited Uses

You may not: (a) scrape, crawl, or programmatically harvest any data from the Service without written permission; (b) reverse engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract our underlying database; (c) resell, sublicense, or redistribute reports or database extracts to third parties; (d) use the Service to build a competing product; (e) circumvent rate limits, access controls, or cookie-based usage gates; (f) submit false, misleading, or malicious inputs; or (g) use automated tools to access the Service in a manner that burdens our infrastructure.

11. Intellectual Property

All content, software, databases, designs, logos, and reports are the exclusive property of Gerim-Sterling LLC or its licensors, protected by U.S. and international copyright, trade secret, and intellectual property laws. Reports purchased through a paid account are licensed to you for internal business use only — you may not distribute, republish, or sell report content.

Underlying regulatory data cited in reports (21 CFR, GRAS notices, EAFUS entries, etc.) is sourced from public U.S. government databases and is not owned by us.

12. Dispute Resolution and Arbitration

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY — IT AFFECTS YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS.

Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or your use of the Service shall first be resolved by good-faith negotiation. If negotiation fails, the dispute shall be submitted to binding arbitration under the American Arbitration Association (AAA) Consumer Arbitration Rules. Arbitration shall take place in Harris County, Texas. The arbitrator's award shall be final and binding and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction.

CLASS ACTION WAIVER: You agree to resolve disputes with us individually and waive any right to participate in a class action lawsuit or class-wide arbitration.

13. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, United States, without regard to conflict of law principles. To the extent any dispute is not subject to arbitration, it shall be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Harris County, Texas. You consent to personal jurisdiction in those courts.

14. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice, including for violations of these Terms. Upon termination, your right to use the Service immediately ceases. Sections 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, and 13 survive termination.

15. Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects the most recent revision. Material changes will be communicated via email to registered users. Your continued use of the Service after the revised Terms are posted constitutes your acceptance of those changes.

16. Severability and Entire Agreement

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, and the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Gerim-Sterling LLC regarding the Service and supersede all prior agreements, representations, and understandings.

17. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Contact [email protected]. Gerim-Sterling LLC, Harris County, Texas, United States.