Increasing number of dangerous consumer products detected in Europe
The number of products presenting health or safety risks that were detected and withdrawn from the EU markets in 2007 was 53 percent higher than in 2006, according to a report to be delivered by EU consumer protection commissioner Meglena Kuneva today (17 April).
The majority (52 percent) of the dangerous goods come from China, although dangerous products of European origin - notably German (six percent), Italian (four percent), Polish and French (two percent each) were also detected, as well as Japanese and American items (also two percent each).
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Altogether, 1,605 notifications for dangerous products were received by the commission last year, most of them for toys (31 percent), but also for motor vehicles, electrical goods and cosmetics, according to the commission's annual report on the operation of its Rapid Alert System (RAPEX).
RAPEX is a system aiming to facilitate and speed up the exchange of information between the EU's member states and the European Commission on the detection of dangerous consumer products, excluding food, pharmaceutical and medical devices.
The commission suggests that the reason that most of the dangerous goods came from China is explained by the large percentage of products that the EU imports from there, with more than 80 percent of all the toys on the EU market come from China.
It is also due to the fact that incoming Chinese products are more tightly checked than others, following a string of recalls last year, notably of Chinese toys.
The dangers from the products detected in 2007 included physical injury, choking, electric shock, fire and various risks from chemicals associated with an item.
Germany detected 12 percent of the total number of dangerous products - the highest number of cases in a member state. Greece, Slovakia, Hungary and Spain each represent eight percent of cases, while Malta and Luxembourg only sent three and two notifications respectively.
By comparison, 1,051 notifications were received in 2006, most of them coming from Germany, Hungary, Greece, the UK and Spain, while 847 were received in 2005, and 468 in 2004.
The increase is a consequence of the improved efficiency of RAPEX and of the EU member states' authorities, rather than the result of an increasing number of dangerous goods trying to make it onto the bloc's market, according to the commission.
But the commission admits its alert system still needs to be improved. A new IT system is expected to be implemented this year, as well as new risk-assessment guidelines.
"The commission is well aware of the need for other comparable safety indicators to be developed in cooperation with businesses, public authorities and stakeholders, and also thorough evaluation and classification of consumer complaints," the RAPEX report reads.