“SAFETY GATE”, the EU sentinel accountable for detecting harmful merchandise doubles its rating | EUROtoday

On Apr 17, 2025

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PAS of capes or superpowers, however an evening being always: “Safety Gate” is the quick alert system which tracks harmful merchandise within the 4 corners of the European single market. On Wednesday, the Irish European Commissioner Michael McGrath, accountable for client safety, unveiled figures in very web enhance: 4,137 alerts in 2024, that’s to say close to these recognized two years in the past!

Born modestly in 2001 below the title of Rapex, this European watch has grown over time. The evolution is spectacular: 2,253 alerts in 2020, 2,142 in 2021, 2,117 in 2022, then a leap to three,412 in 2023, earlier than reaching absolutely the file of 4,137 final yr. A development which testifies as a lot of the effectiveness of the system as of the multiplication of dangers.

The hazard of too low cost merchandise

Every day, the authorities of 30 international locations scrutinize, take a look at, analyze the merchandise round us. An electrical adapter suspicious to Malta, a doll with poisonous elements in France, a kids’s lavatory shorts with too lengthy cords in Belgium … European vigilance tracks the faults that might trigger damages, accidents, stifling, poisoning.

However, it’s a nation that floods the market of harmful merchandise at low costs: China! The figures are relentless. The Xi Jinping business empire stays the principle supplier of harmful merchandise with 40 % of alerts. “If we exclude cosmetics, China even represents 61 % of dangerous products,” stated the Irish curator.

Watch out for cosmetics!

With 16 % of alerts in 2024 (and 15 % in 2023), Italy is unfortunately distinguished as the primary nation within the European Union offering dangerous merchandise. A state of affairs that creates diplomatic discomfort in Brussels. Lhe commissioner McGrath, visibly embarrassed when questioning her on this delicate topic, states on basic remarks.

In truth, the nice upheaval of current years comes from cosmetics which have dethroned toys on the checklist of probably the most reported merchandise. In query? BNHCA, an artificial perfumery ingredient banned since 2022 however which continues to infest the cabinets, together with Italian magnificence merchandise. “It can harm the reproductive system and cause skin awareness,” in line with the Safety Gate report.

E-commerce, new battlefield

“Last year, more than 4.5 billion low -value items were imported into the EU, twice as much as the previous year,” stated the commissioner. The port of Rotterdam is stuffed with containers crammed to the brim of those packages of lower than 150 euros, uncontrollable as there are various. 12 million small packages are thus on daily basis, primarily from China, which flock to the outdated continent.

Faced with this surge, the European Union does what it is aware of the right way to do: regulation. In this case, the Regulation on General Products (GPSR), which has entered into pressure final December, requires new obligations to on-line platforms. “Whether the product is sold online or offline, by a European company or not, it must respect our standards,” insists McGrath.

A sentry that reinvents itself

Since its creation, Safety Gate has continued to evolve. First a easy data alternate system between nationwide authorities, he became an actual digital galaxy along with his interconnected modules: the “Consumer Safety Gateway” for shoppers, the “Safety Business Gateway” for firms, and even an “e-surveillance” robotic which routinely tracks harmful merchandise on-line.

To uncover

The kangaroo of the day

Answer

“We are making ready a primary operation to [coup de filet] product security to verify whether or not gadgets offered on on-line marketplaces adjust to our authorized necessities, ”declares McGrath. A punch process that want to shake the giants of e-commerce, Temu and Shein in thoughts.

Apart from chemical dangers, accidents are the second main reason behind reminders, representing 25 % of alerts in 2022, 21 % in 2023, and 14 % in 2024. These dangers primarily concern motor autos, childcare gadgets and toys. The dangers of suffocation decreased, from 14 % in 2022 to eight % in 2023 and seven % in 2024. Electric shocks (between 6 and 9 %) and environmental dangers (8 %) full the checklist of the principle causes of reminders.

https://www.lepoint.fr/monde/safety-gate-la-sentinelle-de-l-ue-chargee-de-detecter-les-produits-dangereux-double-son-score-17-04-2025-2587607_24.php