Common product safety issues

Thanks to the Safety Gate/RAPEX system, information on measures taken against non-food dangerous products is circulated quickly among the national authorities responsible for product safety in the Single Market countries. In 2021, there were a total of 2142 Safety Gate/RAPEX alerts across all product categories in the system and almost half of these alerts concerned products of Chinese origin.

In 2021, the most frequent categories in Safety Gate/RAPEX alerts for products originating from China included:

• Toys – 34%
• Electrical appliances and equipment – 22%
• Protective equipment – 12%
• Jewellery – 9%
• Childcare articles, equipment and clothing – 5%

In relation to the products listed above, the most frequent types of risk in Safety Gate/RAPEX alerts in 2021 were:

• Toys – Choking and chemical risks
• Electrical appliances and equipment – Electric shock and fire risks
• Protective equipment – Health and damage to sight risks
• Jewellery – Chemical risks
• Childcare articles, equipment and clothing – Chemical and injury risk

The Academy has modules that provide further detailed information on:

• Toy safety
• Safety of electrical appliances
• Safety of childcare articles and children’s clothing