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In the most recent episode of 'Zondag met Lubach',aired on December 1, 2019, attention was paid to Chinese online stores such as AliExpress and Wish. These webshops deliver about 70,000 packages a day in the Netherlands. This is not surprising, because the prices are very low and the assortment is large. But what about the safety of these products?
Within Europe, there are legal requirements for product safety. On products such as toys and electrical appliances, a CE mark is mandatory. With this, a manufacturer or importer indicates that the product complies with applicable laws and regulations.
Manufacturers based outside Europe fall outside the scope of European legislation and market regulators. Therefore, there is a good chance that products supplied directly to European consumers by these companies do not meet European safety requirements.
How about appliances that can pose a fire hazard to your home? Clothing with chemicals banned in Europe? Toys with harmful substances and small parts that children are exposed to? Because products from outside Europe are delivered directly to your home, supervisory authorities cannot perform safety checks.
To ensure consistent enforcement and effective action against non-compliant products, Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 will enter into force on July 16, 2021. This Regulation will apply to anyone selling non-food consumer products on the European market, even if they are not based in Europe. All operators will then be responsible, regardless of whether the products are marketed through offline or online channels. The mandatory appointment of a contact point in Europe for third-country producers is one of the new requirements. This will ensure that European market regulators will soon always have a contact point.
Time to take action. Are you unsure about what role and legal responsibility you have as a business owner?
We can help! We have a team with extensive experience in training, advising and supporting in the field of product compliance for non-food consumer products. Please feel free to contact us at +31 (0)30 - 65 66 010 or info@precongroup.com.
Subscribe to our newsletter, our monthly look at food and non-food quality management.