With every product that is put onto the market, safety has to be the biggest concern, which is why the General Product Safety Directive has been put in place. This ensures that everything we buy as consumers is safe and meets certain standards.

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What is the General Product Safety Directive?

The General Product Safety Directive is designed to cover all consumer products which do not fall under any other specific sector legislation (as opposed to products, such as toys and medical devices, which do have their own legislation).

This ensures that consumer health and safety is protected and that the internal European market functions properly. The Directive states that products must be safe under conditions of use that are deemed to be normal.

What are the objectives of the General Product Safety Directive?

The objectives of the General Product Safety directives are as follows:

  • Ensuring the safety of all products, including those that are linked to new technologies
  • Addressing challenges that are posed by the growth of online sales
  • Ensuring better enforcement of the rules
  • More efficient market surveillance
  • Improving the effectiveness of product recalls

Requirements of the General Product Safety Directive

A product is considered to be safe if it conforms to the safety provisions of European legislation or national regulations of the member state in which it is being sold.

Producers, importers and distributors are obliged to take appropriate measures to prevent safety risks associated with the product and to inform consumers of any risks that remain. This involves a thorough in-house assessment which should be documented and be retained; when necessary, this shall be presented to authorities if enforcement actions are taken.

Member states must enforce the requirements on producers, importers and distributors through market surveillance and enforcement. They have the authority to enforce penalties and have a wide range of intervention powers. In some situations, they may ban the marketing of a product deemed to be unsafe, withdraw it from sale or recall it.

Manufacturer and distributor obligations under the General Product Safety Directive

Under the legislation, there are many requirements that both manufacturers and distributors must follow.

Manufacturers are required to market products that comply with the legislation, they also must:

  • Provide consumers with the necessary information in order to assess a product’s inherent threat, particularly when this is not completely obvious
  • Take the necessary measures to avoid such threats and have plans in place on how to inform customer and recall products

Distributors are obliged to:

  • Supply products that comply with the general safety regulations
  • Monitor the safety of products on the market
  • Provide the necessary documents to ensure that products can be traced

What products are covered?

The General Product Safety Directive covers all new and second-hand products sold to consumers for personal use as well as products that provide a service.

While the General Product Safety Directive covers all consumer products, it also lists harmonised standards for certain, specific items. These standards provide a blueprint of technical criteria that each product must meet. The requirements cover things such as the mechanical and chemical properties, any substance restrictions, the electromagnetic capability of the item, the labelling requirements and the testing methods.

These standards covers items such as furniture (like foldaway beds, cribs, and children’s mattresses); children’s products such as soothers, walking frames, carrycots, drinking equipment, clothing and protective equipment; gym equipment including parallel bars, vaulting boxes, balancing beams , trampolines, and wall bars; bicycles and their luggage carriers; swimming equipment such as buoyant aids, surfboards and floating seats; electronics, for example, computer wires, USB sticks and audio soundcards; and lighters like windproof lighters, fuel lighters and electric lighters.

By understanding these requirements at the development stage, it is easier to produce and modify a product to meet the standards before it reaches mass production.

For all other consumer products where there is no harmonised standard, these products shall still comply with the requirements stated within the General Product Safety Directive.

We are experts in the General Product Safety Directive and can help your business navigate the requirements and paperwork to ensure that your product can be sold both safely and legally on the European market. Contact us today to find out more.

Get in touch today

Ready to expand your business into new markets? Let our team of expert Authorised Representatives guide you through the process. Contact us now to get started. Call us on 01298873837 or via email info@ARenquiries.com, alternatively you can fill out our form over on our contact page.

Our Scope of Service

Along with the General Product Safety directive, we also serve the following directives:

How AR Service will support you?

Authorised Representative Service will act as your responsible economic operator and carry out the following obligations for you:

  • We will verify that your EU Declaration of Conformity (or Incorporation, Performance, etc.) and technical documentation has been drawn up correctly.
  • We will keep these documents at the disposal of market surveillance authorities for the period required by that legislation and ensure that the technical documentation can be made available to those authorities upon request.
  • Upon request from a market surveillance authority, we will ensure that the technical documentation can be made available to them in order to demonstrate the conformity of the product.
  • If we have reason to believe that a product presents a risk, we will highlight this information to the necessary parties.
  • If a risk is identified, we will liaise with you and support you in taking immediate, necessary, corrective action to remedy any noncompliance causing the risk.
  • As your Authorised Representative, we will provide you with our name and contact details, for you to place on the product, it’s packaging or accompanying documentation.
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