Inspectors found 18 unsafe non-food products being sold from retail outlets in the first half of the year.

The Malta Standards Authority said the products posed a serious risk to consumers and were removed from the market following tests conducted in-house or in laboratories overseas.

The authority, in its six-monthly report, did not specify which products were found to be unsafe.

Its inspectors visited 257 retail outlets between January and June, ranging from shops to market stalls, inspecting more than 1,100 non-food products to ensure they were safe and conformed to legal requirements. A total of 135 samples were tested.

The products inspected varied from lifts to pesticides, electrical appliances to children's clothing and toys.

During the same period, the authority held 189 meetings and seminars for economic operators working in specific fields.

It received 29 complaints concerning product safety.

The authority can be contacted on 2395 2000 for information or to raise a product safety issue.