Substances and Mixtures that are placed on the market should be classified, labelled and packaged correctly. COSHH Symbols help to identify potential harmful chemicals that may be explosive, oxidising, highly or extremely flammable, corrosive or hazardous to the environment.

As of 1 December 2010 the old orange 'HSID' symbols were replaced with new red, white and black GHS symbols. The new Classification, Labelling & Packaging (CLP) Regulations have adopted the United Nations’ Globally Harmonised System on the classification and labelling of chemicals (GHS) to create a clear globalised system of identification

All old style orange ‘HSID’ symbols will no longer be eligible and must be replaced with the new CLP hazard pictograms by 1st June 2015.