EC regs to boost safety
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• Tough European legislation on product safety, which will cover the distribution of goods, is being proposed by the European Commission.
The EC General Product Safety Directive is designed to co-ordinate product safety throughout the Community, since national differences in product safety could "constitute a barrier to intraCommunity trade".
Each national government will be required to ensure the safety of products, including their transport, packaging and storage. In emergencies the EC wil have the power to take charge and co-ordinate a European response.
The Commission hopes to see an improvement in the labelling of goods during transport, and in arrangements by manufacturers to monitor the performance of their products after sale.
In the case of distributors, the duty of monitoring will "extend only to their activities in sofar as they may affect the safety of the product", National governments will be empowered to prohibit the sale and distribution of goods for up to three months — the Commission will have that power for up to six months.
The Commission also proposes measures "to increase the readiness of any holder of such product, in particular distributors and end users or final consumers, to facilitate its withdrawal". UK consumer affairs minister Eric Forth has welcomed most of the proposals, but warns: Some of the detailed requirements in the proposals are unwelcome and unecessatily burdensome". 0 Comments on the consultation document should be sent to the Consumer Safety Unit at the Department of Trade and Industry, phone 01-215 5000.