EDGE Vaping: Quality, Safety & Compliance You can Trust

As the years have progressed since Vaping first became popular in the UK, more and more vapers are asking questions about how their e-liquids are made, and what assurances brands can provide regarding quality and safety.

Despite being at an all-time peak of popularity, vaping's behind-the-scenes processes and legislation are shrouded in mystery for many. With a great deal of misinformation out there, trusting a vaping brand can seem like a difficult task. We still regularly speak with customers who are surprised to learn the steps we take to ensure total compliance with the MHRA, TPD/TRPR regulations, and our own internal safety standards.

With that in mind, we would like to share some of the key things we do at EDGE vaping to ensure your vaping products are 100% trustworthy, safe, and satisfying.

UK Vaping Regulations & Manufacturing Law

Regulations and compliance checks are in place for all things related to vaping, whether that be e-liquids or vape devices, everything sold in the UK must adhere to the regulations which are in place as well as passing all required compliance checks.

The leading set of regulations which are in place for the vaping industry in the UK currently are the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations (TRPR) which were first introduced in 2016 under a different name: The Tobacco products Directive (TPD). Once brexit took effect TPD (which was favoured by the EU) was replaced by The TRPR, however the rules enforced are essentially the same.

UK TRPR Regulations At A Glance:

  • Vape tanks, pods or any cartridges containing e-liquid cannot exceed 2ml in capacity.

  • E-liquid bottles cannot be sold in volumes over 10ml if the e-liquid contains nicotine.

  • E-liquids cannot contain additives or dangerous ingredients such as known carcinogens, caffeine, taurine, or Diacetyl (the compound linked to popcorn lung).

  • E-liquids cannot be produced with a nicotine content above 20mg/ml.

  • All vape product packaging must feature tamper-evident and childproof mechanisms.

  • All vape packaging must clearly show al relevant warning pictograms and hazard statements, with fully disclosed ingredient and allergen information.

  • All vaping products must be submitted to a range of toxicology and emisisons tests to ensure no dangerous components are produced beyind safe thresholds when vaped. This data must then be submitted to the Medicines and Healthcare product Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for approval and registration before the product can be legally sold.
Visit The UK Gov Website To Learn More

How EDGE Achieves Compliance Above & Beyond UK Safety Regulations

EDGE vaping products don't just meet the expected requirements laid out in UK law, we strive to exceed expectations wherever possible. We do this because UK vapers deserve to have access to vaping products they can truly trust, without having to second guess if they are safe.

Below, we will introduce the processes and people responsible for ensuring every single e-liquid you buy from EDGE is of the highest quality, with unmatched safety guarantees.

The Highly Skilled EDGE Teams Behind Our E-Liquids Quality

  • EDGE Research, Devlopment & Analytical Team

    Our lab team is made up of highly skilled technicians, specially trainied in their individual fields.

    Our flavourists are responsible for crafting premium quality flavourings and blending them into new and exciting e-liquid recipes. All our R&D starts with this team, who ensure any and all new products are safe, but also meet the ever-chagning needs of both UK vapers and the letter of the law.

    Our analytical scientists operate our extensive laboratory, using the latest GCMS and Ceti-8 technology to examine everything from raw PG, VG & nicotine to individual flavourings and finished products to ensure they are safe to consume. They are responsible for producing the toxicology & emissions data needed to get EDGE products approved for sale by the MHRA.

  • EDGE Quality Control Team

    Every single stage of our operations have strict quality control points built-into their processes that are intended to prevent non-compliance and ensure only products that meet our exacting quality standards make it to market. From raw material assessment to mixing, bottling, and pre-sale checks - our QC team are at the heart of what makes EDGE The UK's most trustworthy and dependable vaping brand. If you should ever experience and issue with a bottle of e-liquid, the QC team work with the Lab team to carry out extensive internal investigations to identify/isolate potential causes, and ensure solutions are put in place to prevent the same mistakes from happening twice. We strive for perfection but if we ever fall short, the QC team are on hand to make sure you can trust that we always learn from our mistakes.

  • EDGE Regulatory Team

    EDGE Vaping works with the UK's leading regulatory experts to ensure absolute compliance with any and all regulations dictating safety and best pratcice in the vaping industry. Our experts have previously, and continue to play a role in shaping the Government's decisions regarding vaping law, and as a business we are an active part of the debates that shape the way vaping works for our customers, to ensure your best interests are upheld.

    Our regulatory experts are repsonsible for ensuring EDGE products feature all necessary safety information, are properly approved by the MHRA for sale, and never fall short of the legal requirements in-place to keep Uk vapers safe and satisfied with their alternative to smoking.

EDGE Vaping In-House Compliance Checks

Before we submit our lab data to be approved by the MHRA, our lab technicians take compliance very seriously and ensure that all of our in-house compliance checks are completed forevery single e-liquid we make.

We operate a strict set of mandatory checks to ensure everything used in making our e-liquids, as well as the finished batches, are compliant and meet our safety standards.

Raw Material Testing

Every single raw material that is used in making our e-liquids such as VG, PG, flavourings and nicotine are individually tested prior to being added to the e-liquid recipe and these checks are recorded and each component is fully traceable should any issues arise.

Pharmaceutical & Food-Grade Ingredients

We only ever use pharmaceutical & food-grade raw materials when making our e-liquids. This includes the Vegetable Glycerol (VG) and Propylene Glycol (PG) used as the base for finished batches but also as carrier agents for our flavour and nicotine dilutions. All of our flavourings and nicotine dilutions are produced in-house by our expert UK lab teams.

Batch-Testing & Batch Codes On Every bottle

Once an e-liquid batch has been produced, it is assigned a code and subjected to a wide range of analytical tests by our QC and lab teams, to ensure it meets not only legal requirements but also our own safety and quality standards. These batch codes are then sprayed onto the base of every single bottle that the batch is decanted into. This creates total traceability for every component that went into the batch.

If you should experience an issue of any kind, you can provide our customer care team with the batch code, allowing us to conduct a strict internal quality and safety assessment to resolve any issues and provide EDGE customers with peace of mind.

EDGE Vaping State-Of-The-Art UK Facilities

EDGE Vaping is a UK-based brand and all of our operations take place at our bespoke state-of-the-art facilities located in Manchester, England. They ISO 9001 certified & operating to GMP standards wherever possible.

We have invested heavily over the years to build an end-to-end vaping manufacturing and retail organisation that operates with peak efficiency and safety, using only the very latest and best tehcnology alongside bespoke elements, custom-built to better serve our processes - no other e-liquid brand in the UK or beyond can match our setup or the way we work to deliver high-quality products.

This technology combined with our dedicated technical, regulatory and quality control teams allow us to produce vaping products of unmatched quality and safety for your satisfaction.

Every batch is held to exacting standards, being subject to rigorous testing by our in-house ISO 17025 accredited laboratory, ensuring total compliance and safety for your peace of mind.

We manufacture in a completely bespoke ISO class-7 clean facility, using only the finest ingredients and components, with full traceability. Our suppliers are also regularly audited to ensure our raw materials are always up to the standard our customers deserve.

We are also proud to have built a dedicated on-site analytical laboratory housing bleeding-edge technology and tools, staffed by skilled technical professionals to ensure no stone is left unturned in our mission to achieve vaping products of apex quality.

In-House Emissions Testing & The EDGE MHRA Approval Process

Our highly highly qualified lab technicians carry out all required emissions tests on our e-liquids to ensure they are compliant and meet the required standards to pass regulatory checks as per TRPR legal requirements.

Many UK vapers are surprised to learn what their e-liquid has been subjected to, ensuring it is safe before they can buy it.

Below is an overview of the MHRA emisisons and registration process we follow to ensure your e-liquids are safe and compliant:

Step 1: Classification and Labelling
The first step in our compliance process is a thorough analysis of the ingredients used in the e-liquid. The main ingredients are always Propylene Glycol, Vegetable Glycerol and Nicotine, however our premium, UK-made flavourings are made up of tiny amounts of other ingredients, which also need to be accounted for.

Our Compliance Officers create a CLP breakdown, which involves calculating the exact amount of every single ingredient as well as checking their concentration. If any ingredient is present at a level that could cause an allergic reaction, the CLP breakdown provides the information needed so that the correct warnings are included on the packaging.

Stage 2: Emissions Testing
The next step is an emissions test. This ensures that when the e-liquid is heated and turned to vapour it does not contain more than the established safe levels of carbonyl (carcinogenic) compounds. The tests are conducted by expert technicians in our analytical laboratory. First, an aerosol sample is collected from the vaporised e-liquid using specialised equipment called a ceti-8 smoke rig.

This sample is then passed through a special filtered cartridge, converting any carbonyls to more easily measured forms, and exposed to a solvent. This makes the carbonyls suitable for accurate analysis. The resulting solution is run through a High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) machine, after which the carbonyls present in the sample can be compared to pre-set safety standards. The final concentration of each carbonyl is calculated and reported in units of μg/puff.

Stage 3: The Portal
All the data and information on the new e-liquid is then submitted to the MHRA through an online platform called the EU-CEG portal - there is now a separate UK portal if the e-liquid is only to be sold domestically. This information includes the product name, manufacturer’s address, all ingredient values and details from the CLP breakdown, the emissions test results and more.

The submission is sent via e-Trustex and once approved, the e-liquid will appear on the MHRA website as a new, registered product. Should any of the data not comply with their strict safety standards, then the product will be rejected, preventing dangerous e-liquids from entering the market.

Stage 4: Sale
When the new e-liquid has been fully tested, analysed, approved, and finally registered for sale, it can be mass-produced. Every batch of e-liquid produced at EDGE undergoes further analysis to ensure consistent quality as we have detailed earlier in this blog.

This includes but is not limited to individual testing for nicotine concentration and organoleptic analysis of finished batch samples. Organoleptic analysis involves checking the visual appearance, aroma and taste of an e-liquid against standard samples made in controlled conditions. We retain safety data sheets for every single ingredient and finished e-liquid we process that are available on request.

While not the easiest to navigate for everyone, the MHRA database of approved vaping products (including EDGE) is openly available for you to browse. Click the button below to explore if you have any doubts about the legitimacy of a vaping product you have bought.

Visit The MHRA E-Cig Database

EDGE & WGG: The Perfect Partnership For Delivering Quality

We've talked a lot in this blog about all the different teams and facilities we operate to deliver vaping products of unmatched quality, compliance & safety. While they all contribute to the EDGE brand and our reputation, EDGE Vaping is actually one brand forming a part of the Wilson George Group (WGG).

WGG is the collective family of businesses that make up our end-to-end vape manufacturing and retail operations - while they might be separate business entities, they were all founded by the same team that started EDGE vaping all those years ago, with over a decade of experience in the vaping industry as a whole.

NextGEN360 is our flagship business and operates the EDGE brand, retail & customer service, Advance Flavour Solutions (AFS) handles raw materials, lab analysis and flavouring/nicotine dilutions, while Own Label Creations (OLC) handles bottling, labelling and packaging requirements. All these entities are located within an hour of each other in Greater Manchester.

We operate as a seamless single team, fulfilling our various roles to ensure every bottle you buy is of the highest quality possible for your peace fo mind. It is becuase of the expansive resources we have combined that we are able to produce the e-liquids you love, at prices you can afford, and with safety assurances you never need to second-guess.