Labels on non-food products

When you buy certain non-food products you have the right to know exactly what you are buying. You should be provided with information on the products' safe use and on the presence of any potentially dangerous chemicals.

The information available on the label helps you to make an informed choice when buying products.

What should I expect to find on product labels?

The labelling requirements vary, depending on the type of product. To protect you further, special rules apply to different products. Therefore, in the case of product labels:

• household appliances: should indicate their consumption of energy and technical documentation

• cosmetics, toiletries and perfumes: should indicate the minimum durability, instructions on safe use and a list of ingredients

• detergents and cleaning agents: should show graphical symbols on dangerous or allergenic substances and instructions on safe use

• textiles: should indicate names, descriptions and details of the fibres used.

It is against the law, and in some cases a criminal offence, for a producer to include false or misleading information on a label or to fail to include all the information that is required to be supplied by law.

Next week: labelling of medicinal products.

For more information, contact the European Consumer Centre and the Consumers Association at 47 a South Street, Valletta, tel: 2122 1901, e-mail ecc.malta@gov.mt or info@camalta.org,or visit www.camalta.org. You can also phone the Consumer and Competition Division on freephone 8007 4400.

Across the EU, consumers have rights. Insist on yours.

This article is intended for information purposes only. Any legal claim or action taken in the event of a dispute should be based solely on the legal texts concerned.