Toys and clothing top the list of dangerous products detected in 2015

On 25 April 2016, the European Union had published the results for Rapid Alert System for dangerous products in 2015. According to the report, “toys” and “clothing, textiles and fashion items” have been the most notified product category, while “chemical” and “injuries” were the most notified type of risk.

In 2015, there were 2,072 alerts and 2,745 follow-up actions registered in the system. When one Member State posts an alert on the system, other countries can spot the product on their market and react to this initial alert.

In 2015, toys (27%) and clothing, textiles and fashion items (17%) were the two main product categories for which corrective measures had to be taken. These were already the most notified products the year before. As far as risks are concerned, in 2015, the most frequently notified risk (25% of the total of the notifications) was chemical risk, followed by the risk of injuries (22%), which was at the top of the list in the previous report.

The most frequent chemical risks notified in 2015 related to products such as fashion jewellery, with harmful heavy metals like nickel and lead, and toys containing phthalates (plastic softeners which can cause fertility problems). C&K Testing has also made an analysis report on toys and children’s products in 2015.

With 62% of the notified dangerous products coming from China, this country remains the number one country of origin in the alert system. It is the EU's largest source of imports.

Collaboration with the Chinese authorities continues to be a priority for the EU and, more specifically, takes place within the Rapid Alert System China mechanism: each notification concerning a product of Chinese origin is sent to the Chinese administration, so that they address the issue with the manufacturer or exporter directly if these economic operators are traceable.

To date, China has followed up on as many as 11,540 notifications and has been able to take corrective measures in 3,748 cases. In many cases, tracing the source of the product remains difficult.

C&K Testing reminds businesses that REACH Regulation, Toy Safety Directive and EN 71 standards serve as important standards for conformity. Meanwhile, the quality safety of cross-border e-commerce will face more stringent supervision.