SafetyGate
SAFE PRODUCTS.
SAFE CONSUMERS.

2023 RESULTS

Justiceand Consumers

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers
Directorate Consumers
Unit B.4 Product Safety and Rapid Alert System
E-mail: JUST-SAFETY-GATE@ec.europa.eu
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ISBN 978-92-68-12908-1

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CONTENTS
1. Safety Gate: protecting EU consumers for over 20 years ......................................................................................... 6
A. GENERAL CONTEXT.............................................................................................................................................................................. 6
B. HOW DOES IT WORK AND WHO DOES WHAT? .................................................................................................................................. 7

2. Safety Gate 2023 results ............................................................................................................................................. 10
A. ALERTS IN 2023................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
B. FOLLOW-UP NOTIFICATIONS IN 2023.............................................................................................................................................. 14

3. A new European law that benefits all ........................................................................................................................ 16
4. Helping authorities fighting dangerous products: the Coordinated Activities on the Safety of Products ........ 18
5. Dangerous products online, does this ring a bell? ................................................................................................... 19
6. Working with our international partners to make all consumers safer................................................................. 20
7. Recognising businesses and researchers going the extra mile for consumers: the Product Safety Award ..... 22
8. The Safety Gate website: a quick guide ..................................................................................................................... 24
About this report ................................................................................................................................................................ 26

4

FOREWORD
Product safety is the backbone of consumer protection. Today,even the most mundane objects surrounding us are the results ofcomplex chemical or mechanical processes that could potentially bea safe hazard, whether it is the products we pick up on the shelf ordelivered at our doorsteps; the toys our children play with; or our
household tools. To ensure that our surroundings are absolutely safefor our daily use is an essential matter of trust: consumer trust in the
products businesses sell to us, and trust for our health.

Didier Reynders,
EU Commissioner for JusticeThe results are here. In 2023, Safety Gate has reached a record
number of validated alerts: a total of 3 412. If proof was needed,
this shows how dedicated national authorities and the Commission
have been in maintaining robust levels of product safety in Europe.
It also shows to the whole world that a model of strong cooperation
between 30 different countries promoting higher levels of safety canbe accomplished to the benefit of all.

In a few months, the 5-year mandate of the von der Leyen
Commission will draw to a close. During these crucial years, wehave stirred the ship through monumental crises, such as a global
pandemic and war back in Europe, with the difficult economic climate
they brought with them. I am proud of the work my team and I haveachieved during these trying times to ensure consumers rights arerespected and appropriately adapted to the modern challenges.

I was also happy to celebrate the success of those who work to pushproduct safety beyond the set rules. The 2023 Product Safety Award
honoured the entrepreneurs, companies, and researchers who haveexcelled in this task. I am certain many others will continue to raise
the bar even higher in the following editions of the award.

Throughout my mandate, I have been attentive to Safety Gate.
Despite the disruptive potential of these crises, it has grown anddeveloped to face new goals set by new habits and trends. With the
adoption of the General Product Safety Regulation, which will beapplicable from December 2024, we strengthened the legal scope ofour rapid alert system. We also developed new tools to help national
authorities better detect dangerous products wherever they are, bothonline and offline.

It is not only as European Commissioner, but most importantly asa citizen and consumer, that I am proud to present again this year
the great accomplishments of Safety Gate. I am confident that our
rapid alert system will keep growing stronger for the good of future
generations.

5

1.
Safety Gate: protecting
EU consumers for over
20 years

A. GENERAL CONTEXT

market. The Safety Gate rapid alert system plays an important role
here, enabling swift and effective action to be taken across the single
market when a dangerous product is found.

The free movement of goods within the European Single market isa major achievement that has improved people’s lives across the EU.

Exchange of information on dangerous non-food products kicked
off informally in 2001. It became compulsory in 2002 under the
General Product Safety Directive which set up the rapid alert systemfor dangerous non-food products. In December 2024, the General
Product Safety Regulation will replace the Directive and the rapid
alert system will officially be renamed Safety Gate.

Keeping the market safe is the responsibility of all producers,
distributors, retailers and online marketplaces selling goods in the
EU. They must ensure their products comply with the health andsafety requirements that apply to all products on the EU market.
National market surveillance authorities monitor if businesses
comply with the rules. If a national authority detects a dangerous
product on the market, it may ban or restrict its sale, stop it at theborder or order it to be recalled. When one national authority takes
such a measure, it has to inform all the other countries in the single

Safety Gate alerts cover consumer products and products for
professional use (but do not include pharmaceuticals, medical
devices, food or animal feed that have their own separate alert
systems). The types of risk which these products may present cover6B. HOW DOES IT WORK
AND WHO DOES WHAT?

threats to human health and safety, such as choking, strangulationand damage to hearing or sight, or hazards caused by chemicals.
The system also covers measures taken against products that posea security risk or risks to the environment.

National authorities carry out inspections and test products on themarket under their national market surveillance programmes. They
also act on any complaints or information they receive about thepossible presence of dangerous products on the market. If the tested
products are found to pose a risk to consumers, the authorities
decide on the measures to be taken. The European Commission
supports the joint testing of products by EU/EEA national market
surveillance authorities, including customs, by financing coordinatedactivities on product safety (CASP – see section 4).

Over the years, the Safety Gate IT system has been complemented
by a series of associated modules and tools to improve its quality
and efficiency. Examples include the e-Surveillance web crawler
which improves the detection of dangerous products sold online,
as well as the various interoperability solutions developed to allow
for more and better automatic exchanges of information among
the different users.

7

Where manufacturers, retailers, importers or other businesses
become aware they have inadvertently placed dangerous productson the market, they must report this to the authorities. A web
portal called Safety Business Gateway is available for this purpose.
As from 13 December 2024, its use will be compulsory, including
for reporting accidents.

National authorities are responsible for monitoring the alerts in thesystem and checking whether the product identified as dangerous
is also for sale in their own country. They are required to reporton the results of their checks with a follow-up notification on the
Safety Gate. The notifications report any additional measurestaken and any additional information available e.g. on distribution
channels and affected batches. The public website is updated toshow in which countries the product has been found and additional
measures taken.

National authorities from 30 countries (EU Member States, plus
Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) enter information on Safety Gate
in the form of alerts on a daily basis. The alerts contain information
about the product, the risks it poses, and the measures taken to stopit or restrict its sale. The measures can be imposed by the authorities(compulsory measures) or taken directly by the economic operators(voluntary measures). The alerts inputted are immediately visible
to all national authorities in all the 30 participating countries ina restricted access section of Safety Gate.

Online marketplaces that have signed the Product Safety Pledge
also check the Safety Gate to make sure they are not selling
dangerous products online. The Pledge also commits them to remove
such products from their listings within 2 days when requested bya national authority. In those cases, that measure is also inputtedon Safety Gate in the form of a follow-up notification.

8

On average, about 20 new alerts and follow-up notifications arethus circulated through the system every day. A dedicated team in
the European Commission checks their accuracy and then circulates
them through the network. Summaries of these alerts are instantly
published on the Safety Gate website and machine-translated
into the official languages of all countries in the single market, as
well as Ukrainian and Arabic. Moreover, the European Commission
also publishes a weekly report with the most recent alerts. Anyone
can subscribe to receive this weekly review by email in any of theavailable languages and according to their preferred criteria andre-use these data for their own purposes.

92.
Safety Gate 2023 results
In 2023, Safety Gate featured the highest number of alerts validated
since the system was created.

NUMBER OF ALERTS VALIDATED ON SAFETY GATE FROM 2003 TO 2023

2306

2244

2382

2447
2248

2257

2133

1699
1545

3412

2044

2142

2243

2140

2117

1802

1355

924
701
468
139

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

10
2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2022

2023

11 10

11 10

80

NUMBER OF ALERTS VALIDATEDON SAFETY GATE BY NOTIFYING
COUNTRY, IN 2023 COMPAREDTO 2022

79
80

21
17

387

44
387
40

In 2023, 3 412 alerts were validated on Safety Gate.
Apart from the very high number of alerts, theactivity reported in the system shows a change offocus compared to previous years. Several national118
authorities have also increased their activity.

118

87

40
56

38

The increased number of alerts does not mean
there are more dangerous products on the market.
Rather, it reflects a stronger commitment to market
surveillance on the part of national authorities.

27

38

13

430
47

3 412

26

27

113

31

173

80

33 43

139

309

139

309

129

11

11 13825

88
33

23

11
23

51

33

11

88

11

9

66

66
9

51
4

129

11 13

45

825

23

123

123

45
33 43

8031

101

202

202

4

173
101

430
47

304

23

113
150

27

41

304

26

20
8

20

150

41
461
13

27

18

461

87
56

136

18

8

136
21

A. ALERTS IN 2023:

!

79

44

17

7

7

52

ALERTS

were validated
on Safety Gate

20

11
20

31

31

52

33

Apart from the higher number of alerts in 2023, the breakdown by
product category was also quite different from the pattern observedin previous years. Market surveillance enforcement authorities
increased their monitoring of cosmetics to check for the presenceof banned dangerous chemical ingredients due to the enforcementof impactful restrictions of chemicals under REACH.

In absolute numbers, however, the number of alerts from these twocategories remains relatively stable.
Safety Gate figures in 2023 thus show a marked increase in national
authorities’ activity, and more varied monitoring.

As a result, ‘Cosmetics’ was the product category with most alerts in
Safety Gate. ‘Toys’ and ‘Motor vehicles’, which in previous years had
the largest share of alerts, were cast to second and third places.

5 MOST FREQUENT SAFETY GATE ALERTS
BY PRODUCT CATEGORY IN 2022 AND 2023

Other productcategories

Other productcategories

Toys

34%

23%

Cosmetics

32%

24%

2022

2023
Motor
vehicules

Clothings
textile &fashion items

16%

Electrical appliances& equipment

8%

8%

2%

ChemicalMotor vehicles 16%
10%

Cosmetics

and fashion items

8%

Clothing, textiles and fashion items

24%

10%

Electrical appliances and equipment
Other product categories

2023
51%

Cosmetics

Injuries 21%

23%

nces and equipmentategories

2023

2022
Toys

34%

9%
8%

Motor
vehicules

10%

10%

9%

2%

13%

Electrical appliances& equipment

Cosmetics

Clothings textile &fashion items

Toys

12

Toys

32%

13%

12%

2022
Chemical

35%

Motor vehicles 12%

Environment

8%Electrical appliances and equipment

10%

Electric shock 9%

Clothing, textiles and fashion items

8%

Fire

Other types of risk

21%

Other product categories

ChokingToys

8%Electric shock 6%

24%

2022

Injuries 25%

Choking

14%

Cosmetics

9%

Other types of risk

23%

Motor vehicles 16%
10%

Clothing, textiles and fashion items
8%

Electrical appliances and equipment
Other product categories

34%

The increase in the monitoring of cosmetic products has also
caused an increase in alerts signalling chemical risks. Most of thecosmetics notified were reported to contain 2-(4-tert-butylbenzyl)
propionaldehyde (BMHCA), a synthetic fragrance ingredient widelyused in different types of cosmetics that has been banned from theEU market as of 1 March 2022. BMHCA can harm the reproductive
system and may cause skin sensitisation. Dangerous chemicals
were also detected in electronic devices. Examples include leadin solders and the presence of short chain chlorinated paraffins(SCCPs) in cables. These pose a risk not only to human health but
also to the environment, as they are toxic to aquatic organisms at
low concentrations and bio-accumulate in wildlife and humans. There
were also still many alerts reporting e-cigarettes with an excessive
concentration of nicotine, and plastic dolls and other toys andaccessories containing plastic softening phthalates, even though thesesubstances in this type of product have been fully banned since 2019.
Injuries and choking continue to be very present in alerts, ranging from
accidents involving motor vehicles to toys or clothing with small pieces.

5 MOST FREQUENT TYPES OF RISK IN
SAFETY GATE ALERTS IN 2022 and 2023
Other types of risks
Fire

8%

Other types of risks

21%

Chemical

9%35%Electric shock

9%

2022

Choking

8%

Injuries

Injuries

Toys

32%

Chemical

13%

35%

Motor vehicles 12%

8%Electrical appliances and equipment

10%

Electric shock 9%

Clothing, textiles and fashion items

8%

Fire

k 6%
21%

Other product categories

Choking

Toys

24%

14%

8%

51%

ChemicalInjuries 21%

23%

Motor vehicles 16%

9%

Other types of risk

ChemicalCosmetics

2022

2023

2022

Injuries 25%

8%of risk

21%

25%

2022

Cosmetics

2023

8%

14%

2023

51%

Environment

Choking51%

Chemical

6%Electric shock

10%

Clothing, textiles and fashion items

9%

Electrical appliances and equipment

8%

Other product categories

34%

13

35%

Injuries 25%

Choking8%

Choking

Environment

8%Electric shock 9%

Electric shock 6%
Other types of risk

Fire
21%

14%

9%

Other types of risk

8%

B. FOLLOW-UP NOTIFICATIONS IN 2023:
The number of follow-up notifications on Safety Gate and thebreakdown by product type were similar in 2023 to previous years.
A total of 4 287 follow-up notifications were validated and circulated
in the rapid alert system.
As in previous years, most follow-up notifications concerned motor
vehicle recalls, which is a reflection of how well-organised the alert
system is in this sector and the wide variety of car types across the
EU Single Market. There was a slight improvement in the followup alerts for other product categories, confirming the trend in
the previous year, but further progress is still needed. Also, someauthorities stopped reporting follow-up measures in the reporting
year, an issue which requires further attention.

14

458
25

25

2022

51

2023

281

155

458

226

281

155

281

22
105

108
201

220

206

276
178
206

201

21 36

201

276

131

21 36
10

46

237
350
37

2

217
131

24

46
99

24

37

267
205

130
30

232

10

2

217

67

205

21

130

232

132 46 24
67
30
100
267

106

130

368

325
30

232

67

21
132

66

352 205

106

106
267
265

217

343

265

237

2

206
108

265

237

10

343

131

201

were validated andcirculated in the rapid
alert system

10

99

352

99

108

30

343

201

21 36

246

313

62

352

10

201

220
108

4 287

62
22

220

178

105

108

178
276

246

62

10

220

216
22

246

226
105

108

155

220

216

458

220

216

NUMBER 0F FOLLOW-UPS
ON SAFETY GATEBY REACTING COUNTRY
IN 2023, COMPARED TO 2022

FOLLOW-UP
NOTIFICATIONS

226

51

37

21

368
132

100

350

325
100

106
368

325

350

313

30

106

66
313

30

106

66

7

15

13

1

3

3.
A new European law
that benefits all

The General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988 (GPSR)
entered into force on 12 June 2023 and will replace the General
Product Safety Directive as of 13 December 2024.

• strengthens the safety of products linked to new technologies,
by covering risks that new technologies pose to consumers’ healthand safety and providing clear rules on how to assess them;

The new Regulation provides a real safety net against dangerous
products for EU consumers. It improves the general product safety
rules, and makes them more future-proof. It also creates theconditions for even more efficient market surveillance of all productson the EU market, sold both offline and online. Among other things,
the new Regulation:• addresses product safety issues linked to online sales,by imposing new product safety obligations on providersof online marketplaces and distance sales;• sets up clear and specific product safety requirements
for economic operators, depending on their respectiveroles in the supply chain;• requires everyone in the supply chain have to apply the
precautionary principle, a fundamental principle for ensuring
the safety of products and consumers; it means that products
or actions which are not based on a high degree of scientificcertainty must be treated with caution;• improves reporting by economic operators on
accidents caused by products, with more systematic useof the Safety Business Gateway;16

Businesses and national authorities need to be ready to apply these
new rules by 13 December 2024. The European Commission is
also working actively to ensure an effective implementation of theRegulation by stakeholders and to provide them with the necessary
tools to be able to better cope with the changes introduced by the
new Regulation. A communication campaign aimed at businesses will
be carried out in 2024, to ensure that all businesses are aware of the
new rules.

• provides for the creation of new tools to improve complainthandling and the provision of information about dangerous
products, including for instance a new tool for consumers
to report dangerous products;• requires traders outside the EU to have a responsible
economic operator established in the EU for the placing on
the Union market of all non-harmonised products;• sets up rules to make product recalls more effective, including
the obligation to offer consumers an effective, cost-free andtimely remedy;• sets up stricter deadlines for reporting of dangerous products
on Safety Gate.

17

4.
Helping authorities
fighting dangerous
products:
the Coordinated Activities
on the Safety of Products
The Coordinated Activities on the Safety of Products (CASP)
initiative, financed from the EU Single Market Programme budget,
provides the national market surveillance authorities with astructure and funding to jointly test products and agree on common
approaches and procedures, and to share knowledge and bestpractices for a more effective market surveillance. CASP is also
a forum for discussion in an ever-changing European context.

activities. The resultant guidance documents provide useful input
for the authorities’ daily work. In particular, joint testing of specificproducts enables enable the participating authorities to takecoordinated action against those products that pose a risk to
the health and safety of consumers, and to notify such cases via
the Safety Gate.
Following on from CASP 2022, the joint testing efforts focused, among
other things, on products such as childcare articles and electricalappliances and on the re-testing of slime toys, which were the subjectof a large testing campaign back in 2019.

For each project cycle, representatives of national authorities
participate actively in product-specific testing activities and moregeneral ‘horizontal’ (on a general product safety related issue)

Information about CASP2022 activities

18

5.
Dangerous products online,
does this ring a bell?

The safety of products sold online remained a priority in 2023.
Apart from introducing new legal requirements through the General
Product Safety Regulation and the Digital Services Act, which apply
to all providers of online marketplaces selling to EU consumers, theCommission continued to encourage the voluntary cooperation
mechanism established under the Product Safety Pledge.

the products they sell online. These include for example
a strengthened notification and takedown mechanism, proactive
monitoring of recall sites such as Safety Gate and additional
commitments linked to recalls, transparency or to educating traders.
The Product Safety Pledge+ also sets up an updated reporting
mechanism. Signatories started applying the new commitment
framework on 1 December 2023. On the same day, the Product
Safety Pledge+ became an integral part of the new Consumer
Protection Pledge, which also consists of Digital Consumer Rights
Commitments that address some of the key aspects of consumer
rights when using online marketplaces.

During the 2023 Consumer Summit on 28 March 2023, the online
marketplaces signatories of the Pledge reaffirmed their commitment
to the safety of the products they offer for sale. They have agreed
to go beyond the legal requirements by signing the revised versionof the original Product Safety Pledge, the Product Safety Pledge +.
Facilitated by the European Commission, the Product Safety Pledge+sets out 20 areas where the signatories have made commitments for19

6.
Working with ourinternational partners tomake all consumers safer

SHARE OF ALERTS VALIDATEDON SAFETY GATE BY COUNTRY OF ORIGIN
Other countries of origin

12%International cooperation is essential to ensure consumers areprotected everywhere, not only in the EU, but worldwide.

Unknown

In 2023, the breakdown by country of origin of unsafe products wasdifferent from previous years. This was due to the unusually highnumber of alerts concerning cosmetics.

China

12%

37%

If cosmetics are excluded, about half of the Safety Gate alerts concern
products originating in China, which is about the same level as inprevious years.

52%
48%

Italy

15%

Share of alerts indicating China
as country of origin excluding
alerts on cosmetic products
Share of alerts indicating countryof origin other than China excluding
alerts on cosmetic products

Share of alerts validated on Safety Gate by country of origin:
China 37%
Italy

15%

Unknown

EU/EEA countries (except Italy)

12%

24%

EU/EEA countries (except Italy) 24%
Other countries of origin

20

12%

Since 2006, the Commission has been closely cooperating with
the Chinese authorities responsible for product safety. Theseauthorities follow up on Safety Gate alerts to ensure that appropriate
corrective action is taken against dangerous products originatingfrom China and regularly report back to the European Commission
on the actions taken. In addition, an action plan on the safetyof products sold online, signed in September 2023, featured anagreement to report any action taken against dangerous products
sold online within 21 days. A comprehensive information and training
programme (www.speac-project.eu) has been in place since 2019
to raise awareness among Chinese economic operators about
EU product safety requirements, providing training activities ande-learning tools to spread knowledge.
An informal dialogue on consumer product safety with the U.S.
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) continued, with anumber of regulatory exchanges on issues of common interest
and preparatory work for joint training events for Chinese operators
under the EU SPEAC project.

On the multilateral front, the European Commission is actively
participating in the work of the UN Working Group on Consumer
Product Safety (under the United Nations Conference on Trade andDevelopment, UNCTAD) and the OECD Working Party on Consumer
Product Safety. In particular, Safety Gate is a major contributor to
the OECD global recalls portal, which gathers information about
corrective measures against dangerous products, including productrecalls, that are issued around the world.

The European Commission also cooperates closely with Health
Canada, based on the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic andTrade Agreement (CETA). In addition to the regular exchange of
information between the EU Safety Gate and the Canadian RADAR
database, the parties have been exchanging experience and bestpractice regarding online market surveillance and cooperating onawareness-raising activities. A coordinated social media campaign on
safe online shopping as regards products for children took place inNovember 2023.

Working with international partners is vital to strengthen worldwide
cooperation on product safety. Every 2 years, the Commission
organises the International Product Safety Week, wherestakeholders from all over the world discuss product safety issues
and priorities.

21

7.
Recognising businesses
and researchers going
the extra mile for consumers:
the Product Safety AwardThe 2023 edition of the Product Safety Award celebrated innovative
businesses initiatives that went beyond the requirements of
EU legislation and related standards in protecting the safetyof teenagers. For the first time, the award was also given to
outstanding research in the area of product safety. A distinction was
made, respectively, between small and medium sized enterprises
and large companies and between early career and seniorresearchers. The winners received their awards at a networking
ceremony in Brussels.

22

23

8.
The Safety Gate website:a quick guide
Have a look and spread the word about Safety
Gate to help improve product safety throughout yournetwork and among colleagues and friends.

The Safety Gate website is available in all the languages of the EU,
as well as Icelandic, Norwegian, Ukrainian and Arabic. The alerts are
updated daily following new information received from the national
authorities, who are responsible for the content of the alerts.
On the Safety Gate website you can:• search for dangerous products using different criteria, open anyof the alerts to see the details, and export the information as a PDF
document or export your search results as an Excel table;• subscribe to receive the latest alerts, with your selected criteria,
in the language of your choice;• find information about the General Product Safety Regulation;• find all the information about the CASP, the Product Safety Pledge
and international cooperation on product safety;• keep yourself up to date on related campaigns and events,
including the Product Safety Award.

24

25

About this report

Contacts:

The data in this report is based on information from national
authorities on measures taken against dangerous non-food products.
This information includes various risks that they have identified,mainly to consumers’ health and safety but also to the environment
or risks in relation to professional products (i.e. products notnormally available to consumers). The report also takes into accountdata related to information exchanged among member countries
that is not published on the Safety Gate website.

Contacts in the member countries

Key documents and tools:
Directive 2001/95/EC on general product safety (GPSD)
Documents concerning the revision of theGeneral Product Safety Directive

The report presents statistics on the rapid alert system. It does not
purport to give a comprehensive picture of all dangerous productson the single market, nor does it give an overview of all market
surveillance efforts undertaken by the EU/EEA national authorities.

All information concerning the General Product Safety Regulation
Guidelines for the management of the rapid alert system on
general product safety and its notification system

Due to the dynamic nature of the system, the data may varydepending on the time of extraction.

Risk Assessment Guidelines
Safety Business Gateway
Product Safety Pledge

26

ISBN 978-92-68-12908-1

Photos: p.19, p.21 Unsplash – p.7, p.10, p.17 GettyImages – p.8, p.14, p.18 Shutterstock