The European Commission’s 2018 RAPEX Annual Report shows a stabilization in the number of dangerous product reports and follow-up actions for national authorities.
The European Commission (EC) has released its 2018 RAPEX annual report.
The EC’s 2018 RAPEX Annual Report notes stabilization in the number of notifications and member state follow-up actions. However, market surveillance authorities need to improve monitoring for products sold online.
Key messages
- The stabilisation of the European information exchange system on dangerous products is confirmed with a little over 2,000 alerts and 4,000 follow-up actions in 2018.
- The report again highlights the need for national authorities to improve surveillance of online offers. 16% of notifications are related to products sold on the internet; national authorities should further develop tools and specialize in the monitoring of products sold online.
- To support unsafe product detection online, a Product Safety Pledge has been signed by the four major online market places (Alibaba, EBay, Amazon and Rakuten France) allowing national authorities to contact them directly and ask them to remove products identified as unsafe from their platforms.
- The RAPEX website has been updated to make it useful to users, consumers, companies and national authorities. Amongst other updates, the RAPEX website has been renamed ‘Safety Gate’ and is now available in 25 European languages.
- A cooperation agreement on the exchange of information on unsafe products has been signed with Canada.
Results
In 2018, 2,257 alerts were sent through the Rapid Alert System with 4,050 follow-up actions. Toys represent the largest group of products reported to RAPEX, followed by ‘motor vehicles’, and ‘clothing, textiles and fashion items’.
The 5 most notified product categories:
- Toys – 31%
- Motor vehicles – 19%
- Clothing, textiles and fashion items – 10%
- Electrical appliances and equipment – 8%
- Cosmetics – 7%
Regarding the risks, the main risk notified in 2018 is ‘chemical’, ahead of ‘injuries’ and ‘choking’.
The 5 most notified risk categories:
- Chemical – 25%
- Injuries – 25%
- Choking – 18%
- Electric shock – 10%
- Fire – 8%
Source: 2018 results of the Rapid Alert System; the Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers
Patrokles QA Manager – Quality Assurance Done Right.
We have recognised that managing all aspects of product compliance including chemical, physical and electrical product safety requires not just domain knowledge but also a dedicated software solution to streamline day to day activities that quickly spiral out of control if shared file storage, spreadsheets and email are the only tools at your disposal.