Consumer Safety – Check Product Recalls Worldwide in a Few Clicks!

Brussels, 23-10-2012 — /europawire.eu/ — A new international portal was launched in Brussels today, which will allow authorities across the world to exchange information about unsafe products that have been taken off the market. The ‘Global Recalls Portal’ is a project developed jointly by the EU and OECD countries including the US, Australia and Canada. It was unveiled by the Director General in the Directorate General for Health and Consumers of the EuropeanCommission (SANCO), Paola Testori Coggi, the OECD Deputy Secretary General, Rintaro Tamaki, and US Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman, Inez Tenenbaum, as part of International Product Safety Week.

Consumers are increasingly buying on the world market, online and offline. In this larger global market, they want to be sure that no dangerous products have slipped through the net. How can they find out whether the baby-carrier or the bike made outside the EU complies with European and international safety requirements? They can look it up in the “Global Recalls” portal. With an expected 3000 product recall notices per year, consumers, businesses and authorities will have access to a remarkable pool of information on recalled products, enriched on a regular basis by the EU (through RAPEX, the EU rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products), US, Canadian and Australian authorities.

The portal, whose data is in searchable format, will contribute to boosting consumer safety across the world and will enhance consumers’ awareness and confidence in buying global.

SANCO Director General, Ms Testori Coggi, OECD Deputy Secretary General, Mr Tamaki and US Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman, Ms Tenenbaum expressed their satisfaction with the Global Recalls portal which will foster information sharing and contribute to efficient protection of consumers on the global marketplace. They agreed that this new data pool will help government regulators, consumers and businesses search for information on consumer product recalls across the world. This is a case for joining forces to better be able to tackle product safety issues. The three representatives encouraged businesses and consumers alike to become regular users of Global Recalls. They also called upon countries around the world to participate in the portal, so that the largest possible market is covered.

Find out more about the Global Recalls Portal at: globalrecalls.oecd.org/

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MEMO/12/791