Fall in dangerous product notifications

Commission report says number of unsafe products banned, withdrawn, or recalled fell by 20% in 2011 compared to the previous year

The number of non-food dangerous products reported in the EU last year fell for the first time since monitoring began, according to a report issued by the European Commission today (8 May).

The number of unsafe products banned, withdrawn, or recalled fell by 20% in 2011 compared to the previous year. In 2010 the number of notifications to the EU’s rapid alert system for non-food dangerous products (Rapex) increased by 13% from the previous year. The system was set up in 2004.

The Commission attributed the drop to better policing and better cooperation with China, from which half of the dangerous products originate. But John Dalli, the European commissioner for health and consumer policy, said he could not rule out the possibility that the drop was down to member states cutting back on reporting or checks. “I hope it’s not because of decreased vigilance,” he said.

Monique Goyens, the director-general of BEUC, the European consumers’ organisation, also said that she hoped the result was not because of  “fewer controls by cash-strapped governments”.

“More resources for market monitoring are key to avoid perilous products slipping through the net,” said Goyens. “The upcoming review of Europe’s cornerstone product safety law should see a second line of defence established with an EU coordination body for market surveillance and the setting up of a consumer complaints database to which every EU consumer can directly notify dangerous products.”

Spain was the most active member state in notifying Rapex of the discovery of dangerous products, followed by Bulgaria and Hungary. Products made in Europe accounted for 19% of notifications, the highest number coming from France. Clothing and textiles were the most frequently notified products, followed by toys, motor vehicles and electrical appliances.

Since Rapex was set up in 2004, member states have spent up to €100 million on product safety enforcement, employing up to 6,000 inspectors.