Brussels raises concerns about effectiveness of product alert

The European Commission has raised concerns about the effectiveness of the EU RAPEX rapid alert consumer protection service that highlights dangerous products – often cosmetics.

Although the system swiftly alerts consumer protection authorities within the EU, it has encountered difficulties in tracing manufacturers outside the EU, warned a Commission report. It said China was a particular problem: authorities probed 599 RAPEX-reported dangerous products exported to the EU between 2006 and 2008 but took no action in 49% of cases, “mainly because of the lack of available information about the Chinese manufacturer or exporter,” warned Brussels. It called for better international coordination on tracing exported products.