EU publishes RAPEX guidelines

On 7 April 2016, the Official Journal of the European Union adopted the RAPEX guidelines by publication of European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Surveillance Authority of Decision No 447/14/COL.
 
Rapid Information System (RAPEX, Rapid Alert System for non-food dangerous products), which is established under as established under Articles 11 and 12 of Directive 2001/95/EC (the General Product Safety Directive, GPSD). The main objective of the RAPEX system is to ensure that information about dangerous non-food consumer and  professional products found in one Member State is rapidly circulated among all the other national authorities and sent to the Commission for follow-up, with the aim of preventing  the supply of these products to consumers and professional users.
 
The new Guidelines summarises products covered by RAPEX, categories of measures, risk levels, types of notifications, handling of notifications and notification procedures.
 
Except to food, feed, medical devices and medicinal products, RAPEX covers products that are made available to users,  including  products  provided  to  consumers  in  the  context  of  a  service,  such  as,  for  example, hairdryers in hotels and sunbeds if operated by the consumer. The most frequently notified products are: toys, clothing, motor vehicles, electrical appliances, cosmetics, children’s equipment, lighting equipment, and hobby/sports equipment.
 
The surveillance authorities of all Member States can still check on the safety of products that access the EU market even though they are available as safe products on the market. All categories of preventive and restrictive measures taken in relation to the marketing and use of consumer products posing a serious risk to the health and safety of consumers are subject to the notification obligation under RAPEX. Article 8(1)(b) to (f) of the GPSD provides a list of the different categories of measures that are notifiable under RAPEX, including measures:
— marking a product with appropriate warnings on the risks it may present,
— making the marketing of a product subject to prior conditions,
— warning consumers of the risks that could be posed by a product for certain persons,
— temporary ban on the supply, offer to supply and display of a product,
— ban on the marketing of a product and any accompanying measures,
— withdrawal of a product from the market,
— recall of a product from consumers,
— destruction of a withdrawn or recalled product.
 
Products notified by RAPEX system are indicated with type of risks, origin of country and other information. As shown in the system, the number of RAPEX notifications concerning products of Chinese origin remains high, which reduces the confidence of foreign consumers on “Made-in-China” products. C&K Testing advises businesses should have test products tested to comply with REACH Regulation, Toy Safety Directive and EN 71 standards prior to their export to the EU market. By this way, the risk of RAPEX notification can be greatly reduced.