The number of dangerous consumer products withdrawn from EU markets rose by 13% in 2010 compared to 2009, according to the latest annual report on the bloc’s rapid alert system for non-food dangerous products, RAPEX.
A record 2,244 unsafe products were banned, withdrawn from the market or recalled from consumers last year, up from 1,993 the year before.
The Commission put the improvement to member states having "upped their game" and increased commitment on behalf of European businesses to take product safety seriously.
One sign of a "greater awareness among businesses of their obligations" was a 200% increase in the use by manufacturers of a new dedicated rapid alert system known as the ‘GPSD Business Application’.
The improved performance is also a sign that cooperation with third countries, particularly China, was improving, and that resources earmarked for addressing safety concerns are being allocated more effectively, the EU executive said.
"Partnerships are beginning to reap results, both in Europe and in countries that supply us, such as China," said Commissioner Dalli, adding: "This means we can get on with the critical work to be done."
The Commission also said progress had been made by its own networks and training systems.
Consumer groups, however, fear that too many dangerous items are still finding their way onto EU shelves.
"There are still far too many dangerous products slipping through the net. More efforts, and particularly resources, are still needed to improve market surveillance," said Stephen Russell, secretary-general of ANEC, the European consumer voice in standardisation.
Chinese products still top black list
Clothing and textiles (625 notifications) were least year’s most frequently notified products, mainly due to suffocation and irritation risks, pushing into second position toys (488 notifications), which had topped the 2009 black list.
The third most frequently notified category product last year was motor vehicles (175 notifications), while electrical appliances (158 notifications) ranked fourth on account of the risk of electric shock.
58% of the notifications last year related to Chinese-made goods compared to just 17% for products manufactured in the EU, reflecting the fact that 80% of the toys in Europe are made in China.
Indeed, the significance of Chinese manufacturing was emphasised by the fact that this year's edition of the report was fully translated into Mandarin.
A further 15% came from other non-EU countries and 10% were of unknown origin.
Germany tops notification charts
Germany was the country that recorded that highest number of notifications in 2010 (204 notifications; 10%), claiming the crown from 2009 top dog Spain. It was closely followed by Bulgaria (192; 10%), Hungary (191; 10%), Cyprus (178; 9%) and Greece (159; 8%).
In total, 19 EU countries increased their activity in the RAPEX system.
Enhanced market surveillance activities undertaken by national authorities, particularly regarding dangerous clothing and textiles, were singled out by the commissioner as a key driver of the system’s increased effectiveness.
Indeed, notifications on clothing soared from 395 in 2009 to 625 in 2010 following joint surveillance action on cords and drawstrings in children’s clothes conducted by nine countries.
New risk assessment methods, new IT tools and an extension of the scope of RAPEX to professional products are also believed to have been behind the improved performance.
Andrew Williams
