Our right to buy safe products

The right to safety is a basic consumer right. With regard to non-food products, it is safeguarded by the Product Safety Act, which ensures that only safe products are placed on the market. A product is safe if it presents no risk or minimal risk to the safety and health of consumers, under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use.

The Act ensures that consumers have access to only safe products. It also stipulates that whoever places a product on the market ensures that consumers receive information regarding the product’s safety aspects and its proper use. Adequate information must also be provided with regard to any possible risks associated with specific products.

Generally speaking, it is the responsibility of manufacturers, importers, and retailers to ensure product safety. However, in actual fact, each of these suppliers has specific responsibilities. Manufacturers are responsible to design and manufacture products in line with the legal requirements of the specific legislation under which the product falls. Before placing the product on the market they must also sample and test the product to ensure its safety. Manufacturers must also ensure that consumers have all the relevant information and warnings about any possible risks the product may pose if not used properly.

Importers must ensure that they have the Declaration of Conformity, as this guarantees that the CE-marked product they imported and placed on the market has in actual fact been manufactured according to safety rules and standards. This document, together with other technical information that is legally required to guarantee the safety of a product placed on the market, must be readily available upon request by market surveillance authorities.

Regarding the responsibilities of retailers, they should have evidence as to who supplied them with the products they are selling. If upon request they do not provide this information, they become legally responsible in cases where a product sold is unsafe.

Another legal requirement of the Product Safety Act is the CE mark. This is usually affixed on a product by its manufacturer as a sign that the product being placed on the market conforms to the safety requirements of the relevant European legislation.

Without this mark, certain types of products cannot be legally marketed in the EU. These include low-voltage electrical equipment, toys, personal protective equipment, and construction products and machinery. Cosmetics and detergents do not require a CE mark but must abide with the legal requirements.

Toys are a category of product where safety is undoubtedly imperative. Toys should be safe to use and play with. The Toy Safety Regulations define toys as any product or material that is designed or clearly intended for use in play by a child under 14 years of age.

To ensure safety, the regulations list out safety requirements that manufacturers must adhere to when producing toys. These include that toys must be made of materials that do not burn easily, must be made of non-toxic materials, and must not have easily detachable small parts that may pose choking hazards.

In this regard it is specifically stipulated that toys with small parts that are not suitable for children under three years of age must be marked accordingly. Moreover, toys must not have sharp edges, points or mechanisms that could trap little fingers or cause injury.

To show that these safety requirements have been adhered to, manufacturers are obliged to put a CE mark on the toy itself or on the toy’s label or packaging. So whenever we shop around for toys we should look out for the CE mark. We must also look at the warnings on the toy. Certain toys also include instructions which must be carefully followed and kept for future reference.

Before giving a new toy to a child we should carefully check it out to ensure that there are no small pieces which may detach. We know how our children play with toys and we can use this knowledge to detect any possible dangers.

The Market Surveillance Directorate in the Technical Regulations Division of the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority is responsible for product safety, and it carries out ad hoc inspections to ensure that all products for sale are safe. Whenever unsafe products are found on the market, this directorate can take action, including seizing goods, issuing advice and warnings, or prosecuting businesses that put the consumer at risk.

To report unsafe products, call the Market Surveillance Directorate on tel. 2395 2000.

odette.vella@mccaa.org.mt

Ms Vella is senior information officer, Office for Consumer Affairs, Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority.