Motor vehicles, toys most notified unsafe products in EU: report
Didier Reynders - Photo © European Union 2022
(BRUSSELS) - Cars are at the top of the list of notified unsafe products, followed by toys, the European Commission said in its annual 'Safety Gate' report on dangerous non-food products, published Monday.
The annual report on Safety Gate, the EU rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products, also found, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, that protective equipment like face masks still makes up a substantial part of the products notified.
In light of the shift of consumption towards online shopping platforms, new instruments are also developed to better protect consumers shopping online and take the dangerous products off the market. In line with these objectives, the Commission today also launches a new e-surveillance tool called "web crawler" that will help national authorities detect the online offers of unsafe products signalled in Safety Gate.
Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders praised the Safety Gate system as "a vital tool to keep consumers safe from dangerous products". 'Continuous upgrade' of the system meant "it is adapted to fit into the new consumer environment," he said. "This way, we can ensure that the Safety Gate can remain an efficient tool for the Single Market, protecting consumers in all circumstances. It has also helped ensuring that equipment used in the fight against the pandemic is of the highest standards."
The main findings of the report show that in 2021, authorities of the participating countries of the Safety Network exchanged 2,142 alerts through the system. For the first time, the highest number of alerts was notified in the category "motor vehicles" category, followed by "toys" and "electrical appliances and equipment". As regards motor vehicles, actions taken mainly concerned recalls following the detection of technical problems while for toys, they focused on the presence of dangerous chemicals, as well as button batteries. Furthermore, the most common problems reported for electrical appliances and equipment related to the exposure of live parts and overheating issues.
As the pandemic continues, surveillance actions featured a range of COVID-19 related products. There were many alerts related to protective equipment, with protective masks particularly under the spotlight. The five most common risks reported were personal injuries, chemicals, fire, choking and electric shocks. In total, 4,965 follow-up notices circulated in Safety Gate, showing that Member States closely monitor the alerts and often follow-up with additional measures taken in their own countries.
The rapid alert system's 30 participating countries are the EU27 plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
Factsheet – 2021 Safety Gate findings
Safety Gate - subscription to weekly alerts
International cooperation in product safety, bilateral cooperation with the United States