The Commission of the European Union (EU) has released statistics on notices of unsafe consumer products that have been processed through the EU’s rapid information system (RAPEX) during December 2011.
According to the Commission’s report, 190 validated notifications of unsafe products (those posing either serious or moderate risk) were processed through the RAPEX system during the month. This compares with 193 reports during the comparable period in 2010, and 165 reports in December, 2009.
Of the notifications received during the period, 59 (31%) were related to clothing, textiles and fashion items, with an additional 50 (26%) related to toys. Notably, 15 notifications (8%) were related to electrical equipment and appliances, compared with just 9 (5%) in December 2010. Further, the risk of electrical shock and fire was identified in 35 of the notifications (15%), compared with just 10 notifications (5%) for the comparable period in 2010.
Regarding the country of origin identified in connection with products posing a serious safety risk, more than half of all notifications (102, or 53%) were related to products originating from China, including Hong Kong. Another 35 notifications (18%) of unsafe products originated in EU Member States. Thirty notifications (16%) failed to identify any country of origin.
Read the complete text of the EU Commission’s updated report on RAPEX statistics.
