EU report warns cosmetics pose top health risk among non-food commercial goods

15 Mar 2024 --- The EU Commission (EC) releases its annual report on Safety Gate, the rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products. It reveals cosmetics as the most frequently notified product category posing health risks. Highlighting its responsive actions, the government body reaffirms the importance of stringent safety measures.

Across the 30 participating countries, the Safety Gate network recorded 3,412 alerts in 2023, which prompted 4,287 follow-up actions by national authorities. According to the EC, these were the most alerts recorded since the system was first implemented in 2003.

In one significant case, a body cream containing prohibited chemicals was found by Lithuanian authorities, who reported the incident on Safety Gate. Slovenia was able to recall the product from end users, while Polish authorities were able to remove it from their national market.

“Product safety is the backbone of consumer protection. Today, the objects around us, even the most ordinary ones, are the result of complex processes that can be damaging,” says Didier Reynders, Justice commissioner.

Over the years, the EC has developed a “comprehensive and modern instrument” to combat the presence of dangerous products on the market to guarantee the safety of the goods sold, she highlights.

“The record number of alerts on Safety Gate proves the effectiveness of our cooperation and our tools, which should only increase with the upcoming application of the general product safety regulation.”

Notable findings
The EC found chemicals were the most reported risk, followed by choking and injury hazards. The product category that received the most notifications was cosmetics (32%).The Safety Gate network recorded 3,412 alerts in 2023.

Countries with cosmetics notifications in the top three include Austria (26%), Czechia (25%), Hungary (68%), Ireland (9%), Italy (80%), Malta (45%), Norway (12%), Romania (63%) and Spain (75%).

The regulatory body suggests authorities watching the market are now “putting in more effort” to find prohibited substances that risk consumer health, particularly cosmetics.

Many of the cosmetics that were notified contained lilial or BMHCA, a synthetic fragrance that is prohibited and linked to skin irritation and reproductive problems.

Amping surveillance
With the General Product Safety Regulation set to go into effect in December 2024, the EC says there will be an updated framework to improve product safety throughout the EU market. With the help of this regulation, potentially dangerous non-food products will be quickly recalled as enforcement mechanisms and market surveillance will be strengthened. The product category that received the most notifications was cosmetics (32%).

The regulation aims to harmonize safety standards for consumer ease and trust, regardless of a product’s place of origin or mode of distribution.

According to the report, the new regulation addresses online sales safety concerns, improves safety measures for new technologies, calls for caution when there is a lack of scientific certainty and sets explicit safety requirements for supply chain participants for a stronger level of product safety.

It also improves accident reporting, introduces tools for consumer complaints, mandates EU representation for non-EU traders, enforces stricter reporting deadlines and ensures effective product recalls with “timely remedies” for consumers.

With the help of the Safety Gate, the EC, the EU and EEA member states can quickly exchange information, making removing dangerous products from the market easier. Alerts are also translated into multiple languages and are available on the system’s public website for educated consumer decision-making.

Additionally, EC says companies can use Safety Business Gateway to notify national authorities of product safety concerns and ensure risk management.Many of the cosmetics that were notified contained lilial or BMHCA.

Further safety measures
The safety of goods sold online remained a top concern in 2023, according to EC.

This concern is one expressed globally, as Personal Care Insights previously reported on the prevalence of mercury in skin-lightening products sold on mainstream e-commerce platforms including Amazon, eBay and Flipkart.

In addition to enacting new laws through the Digital Services Act and the General Product Safety Regulation, it EC highlights eleven online retailers “committed to maintaining strict safety regulations” that have signed the Product Safety Pledge+ at the 2023 Consumer Summit.

Platforms like bol.com, eMAG, Wish.com, AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Rakuten France, Allegro, Cdiscount, Etsy and Joom signed this pledge.

In 2022, the Commission released a web crawler tool that made it possible to automatically identify online offers for hazardous products that had been reported in Safety Gate.

The technology is designed to make monitoring easier by finding and removing dangerous listings from various internet platforms. The tool has examined almost 789,003 websites in the last six months and identified 41,367 “questionable” online retailers, reveals the EC.

By Venya Patel

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