Today, the Commission presented its 2017 report on the Rapid Alert System for dangerous consumer products. Overall, the Rapid Alert System registered a total of 2,201 alerts on dangerous products in circulation. In this regard, toys – such as several models of the popular fidget spinners – cars and motorcycles made the top of the list of dangerous products that were detected and removed from the market. It also showed that national authorities closely monitored these alerts in the system and acted accordingly to help make the market safer for consumers.
These are the central figures:
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'Toys' was the most notified product category with 29 percent, followed by 'motor vehicles' with 20 percent and 'clothing, textiles and fashion items' with a share of alerts of 12 percent.
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The most often notified risks were injury (28 percent) and chemical risk (22 percent).
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The majority of dangerous products notified in the system originated from outside the EU with China being the number one country. Compared to the previous year, the number of alerts related to products from China remains stable at 53 percent in 2017, that is 1,155 notifications.
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Dangerous products originating from European Member States amounted to a share 26 percent with 413 notifications.
In order to further improve enforcement and to modernize the existing rules, the Commission plans to unveil its 'New Deal for Consumers' in April this year.
Monique Goyens, Director General of BEUC, noted on this: “Consumers do not get the same level of protection depending on where they live. The more authorities look for faulty products, the more they find, and unfortunately there is a huge gap from one country to another. Member States must urgently increase the number of checks, and the amounts of the fines, across all categories of consumer products, from cosmetics to fitness watches and kettles. Connected products that pose new dangers to children can still legally stay on EU shelves because the legal framework is outdated. Member States do not have the power to remove products, such as Cayla 'the spying doll', from the market. This calls for an urgent overhaul of the rules so they truly protect consumers.”
Source: European Commission
More information and BEUC-statement