COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
COM(90) 172 final 
Brussels, 4 May 1990 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 
on a Community system for the rapid exchange of information on dangers 
arising from the use of consumer products in accordance with 
Article 8 of the Council Decision of 21 December 1988 
(89/45/EEC) 
Proposal for a 
COUNCIL DECISION 
amending Decision 89/45/EEC on a Community system for the rapid exchange 
of information on clangers arising from the use of consumer products 
(presented by the Commission) 
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I. INTRODUCTION 
The Commission has prepared this report in accordance with Article 8 of 
Decision 89/45/EEC of 21 December 1988 on a Community system for the 
rapid exchange of information on dangers arising from the use of 
consumer products. Decision 89/45/EEC is the successor to Council 
Decision 34/133/EEC which set up the System in March 1984, since which 
1 
time there have been two reports on its working 
II. DESCRIPTION OF HOW THE SYSTEMS FUNCTIONS 
The Rapid Exchange System has functioned as a general short term 
surveillance and alarm system since 1984 and is designed to cope with 
cases of serious and immediate danger to consumers occurring when 
everyday products are either not manufactured to the required standard 
or are badly conceived in the first place. 
Article 2 of the present Decision established that the system should 
cover all products intended for use by consumers except those intended 
exclusively for professional use and those which under other Community 
instruments are the subject of equivalent notification procedures. 
The System has been operated by the Commission, in accordance with the 
detailed procedures approved by the Commission on 31.7.1985 as provided 
for under Article 4 of the Decision. Member States appoint contact 
points, consisting of persons from the food products sectors and the 
non-food sectors, who are responsible for transmitting and receiving 
notifications from the Commission. For the more efficient functioning 
of the system the Commission itself has a contact point for food 
products and a contact point for non-food products. The food network is 
managed by D6 III and the non-food network is managed by the Consumer 
1. Interim Report COM (86) 562 of 24.10.86 
Report C0MC88) 121 of 11.3.88 

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Policy Service. Whenever a Member State adopts a measure to prevent, 
restrict, or attach particular conditions to the marketing or use of 
consumer products because of the risks they pose to consumers, it must 
notify the appropriate Commission contact points. The Commission, in 
turn, transmits that information to the other Member States, in order 
that they may take appropriate action. All Member States must report to 
the Commission on the action they have taken. It is especially provided 
for under the Decision that, "whenever possible, the producer, 
distributor or importer of the product shall be consulted". Prior 
consultation is not only a valuable means of checking the available 
information but has also a preventive effect: producers and importers 
may voluntarily take action by recalling or withdrawing products when 
approached by the competent authorities even in cases in which the risk 
is not established to an extent that would allow action to be taken by 
Member States. Prior consultation also permits to avoid unnecessary 
conflict between producers or importers and the authorities. 
The Informal Rapid Exchange System for foodstuffs has been in existence 
since 1978 and operates with the following variation in procedure. 
A "red" telephone, that is a direct line installed in the relevant 
"Food-products" service at the Commission as well as a telex link 
are used by the contact point in each Member state to send 
information directly to the Commission. The Commission evaluates the 
information received and is able to automatically transmit the 
message received to the other contact points. 
The way notifications are dealt with varies considerably between Member 
States, owing to differences in the responsibilities, powers and 
structures of the authorities responsible. However, in general terms, 
all Member States follow the following steps: 
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1. The contact point in the national authority designated under Article 
5 (normally a Ministry) decides which other Ministry or Ministries 
are competent to deal with the notification. If there is no other 
body to accept the file, it is dealt with by the national authority 
itself (Belgium, Denmark, Greece). 
2. A check on the market is then carried out to ascertain whether the 
product is on sale. In Portugal, enquiry is also made of the customs 
department to know if there is any record of the product being 
imported. In the case of certain countries (Belgium - for certain 
product areas - Greece, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, 
Netherlands,Portugal and United Kingdom) the national authority has 
at its disposal an Inspectorate which is able to make this check 
throughout the territory of the Member States. 
3. If and when a notified product is found on sale, most countries have 
it tested for the reported danger in an official or officially 
approved laboratory. If the danger is confirmed, subsequent action 
depends on the legal powers available. 
4. In certain countries (Denmark, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Spain, 
France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal and United Kingdom), any 
consumer product can be either temporarily blocked or banned as 
appropriate. In Belgium this power only extends to certain 
categories of products which causes problems when action needs to be 
taken concerning non-regulated products. In the Federal Republic of 
Germany the power to block has certain limitations concerning the 
withdrawal of products from shops. 
Ninety-eight notifications were received since the last report in 1988 
and a list of these notifications for the food and non-food sectors are 
attached to this report at annex II. 
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Coordination with Member States 
The Consultative Committee which assists the Commission in the 
implementation and management of the System was created under the 
original Decision and was continued under the Decision 89/45/EEC. For 
several reasons this Committee has not met since July 18 1988. This was 
mainly due to discussions within the Commission's services on how to 
improve the system and the discussion on the revision of the detailed 
procedures. However in the future the Commission will ensure that this 
Committee meets on a frequent basis. 
III.EQUIVALENT SYSTEMS 
Article 2 of Decision 89/45/EEC provides for equivalent notification 
systems to be excluded. These comprise of pharmaceuticals, which come 
under Directives 75/319 and 81/851 arid animals and animal products, to 
which Directive 82/894 applies. 
In addition to the above, the following are now regarded as equivalent 
systems : Products of animal origin as far as they are covered by 
Directive 89/662/EEC, and the system for radiological emergencies which 
covers widespread contamination of products (Council Decision 
87/600/EURATOM). 
IV. EVALUATION 
When the Council adopted the Decision 89/45/EEC continuing the System it 
invited the Commission to reexamine the system with a view to improving 
its operation if necessary. 
It has been suggested that the present arrangement gives rise to 
duplication in the handling of notifications and to cases where the need 
for a strict checking of the criteria before the transmission of a 
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notification to Member States has not been respected. Identification of 
products by Member States receiving the notifications continued to be 
another problem. 
1) The Avoidance of Duplication 
Duplication can arise in two situations : 
a. Where the same product is reported to both DG III and the Consumer 
Service. However this 
occurred in only two cases Service. However this is not seen as a major problem and has 
3. 
b. Where a particularly difficult or serious case is discussed in two 
or more committees, as happened with contaminated olive oil. 
Each Commission network at present informs the other network of 
notifications received under the Rapid Exchange System. However, in 
order to solve the question of duplication of meetings the detailed 
procedures have been modified to allow the Commission to ensure that, 
whenever possible, in each case the discussions which take place in the 
different relevant committees will be carried out in a joint session of 
these committees. In those cases which fall within the scope of 
procedures and/or committees provided for by Community legislation 
governing specific products or product sectors, the latter shall be 
involved. When the Advisory Committee is not involved and no 
provisions are made for joint meetings, the contact points of the 
Member States will be informed of any exchange of views with other 
committees. 
1. Sugar confectionery animals, December 1988 
2. Self-heating food containers, June 1988 
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2) Verification that the issue of a notification is appropriate 
Such a verification is important because of the risk of unjustified 
economic repercussions. Obviously this risk occurs only where the 
product implicated originates in a country other than the notifying 
country. 
The possibility of issuing a notification for a product which is not 
really a danger or no longer a danger could be eliminated by exhaustive 
enquiries and discussions. However, such a process conflicts with the 
need for the system to operate rapidly. The essential requirements of 
the System are two-fold : 
a) that the criteria ^f Article 1. (1) be respected; 
b) that the notifications be issued to Member States without 
unnecessary loss of time. 
One solution to the problem of inappropriate notifications is to check 
the situation with the Member State in which the product originates. 
Thus when a notification is received by the Commission in respect of a 
product which originates in a Member State other than the notifying 
Member State, the Commission may, if it considers that there is prima 
facie compliance with the provisions of Articles 1 and 2, at the same 
time as issuing the notification to Member States, contact the country 
presumed to be the country of origin of the product to carry out the 
necessary verifications. Provisions are made in the detailed procedures 
to complement the information received from the Member States. 
Theoretically, this procedure should minimise the risk of any 
unjustified economic repercussions in the country of origin. Naturally, 
non-Member States would not benefit from this safeguard. 
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3) Ease of Identification of Products 
i < ii » 
Another problem outlined in the previous report was that 
notifications received did not always contain sufficient information 
for the products to be easily identifiable on the market. This has 
not been completely resolved. The original intention was to use a 
very exhaustive list of information which was drawn up in 1985. This 
list was, however, never followed by the Member States as it was 
found to be impractical. Certain details cannot always be included 
e.g. when the product originates from a third country, it is not 
always possible to indicate the manufacturer and/or the importer. In 
the interests of speed the notification is then sent out without the 
missing detail. If the information subsequently becomes available it 
is then sent to the Member State separately. A photo of the product 
is faxed separately to the Member State when available. This was not 
specified in Article 1(2) of Decision 89/45/EEC but was subsequently 
undertaken by the Commission on its own initiative to help Member 
States identify the product. 
CONCLUSIONS 
The Commission considers that the System continues to function 
satisfactorily and that the System has proved its usefulness as a 
warning system. 
By enabling dangerous products to be removed from the market the System 
has contributed to the prevention of accidents. Also by focusing 
attention on those products or categories of products which have been 
the subject of frequent measures in Member States it establishes a 
basis for preventive action, both at Member State and Community level. 
Regarding the relationship between the food and non-food networks, the 
Commission believes that it is better -for the two networks to continue 
to function separately, to allow the two types of products, which have 
nothing in common but the Decision, to be dealt with by staff who have 
the necessary expertise. However any problems arising from this 
indépendance could be resolved by having more precision in the detailed 
procedures and more coordination between the^Services. 
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After lengthy discussion between the services concerned the Commission 
has come to the conclusion that Decision 89/45/EEC shall be extended, 
on the assumption that it will be abrogated at the moment of the entry 
into force of the General Product Safety Directive. 
No important changes have been introduced but minor amendments are 
necessary to make the Decision operational. It is intended to 
align Article 7 of the Decision on the Advisory Committee with the 
general procedure for Advisory Committees foreseen in Council Decision 
87/373/EEC and as it is now proposed to modify Decision 89/45/EEC, the 
same detailed procedures as for that decision will continue to apply, 
until amended by the Advisory Committee. 
It will be in the context of the General Product Safety Directive that 
an overall solution can be found to the problems posed by the 
multiplicity of information procedures now in operation. 
-1 CD-
Annex I : proposal for a Council Decision modifying Decision 
89/45/EEC 
Annex II : list of notifications received since last report 
- 11 -• 
Proposal for a 
COUNCIL DECISION 
amending Decision 89/45/EEC on a Community system for the rapid exchange 
of information on dangers arising from the use of consumer products 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and 
in particular Article 235 thereof, 
(1) 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission , 
(2) 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament , 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee , 
(4) . .... 
Whereas Council Decision 89/45/EEC extended the system established by Council 
Decision 84/133/EEC(5) until 30 June 1990; 
"Whereas it is necessary to extend and amend Decision 89/45/EEC; 
Whereas without prejudice to other Commission proposals on consumer safety in 
particular, the Community system for the rapid exchange of information should 
now be established, on the basis of experience acquired, for an unlimited 
period; 
Whereas, an advisory committee shall be set up, to which proposals for the 
detailed procedures shall be referred, and which may be consulted on problems 
concerning the administration of the system; 
(1) 0J No C 124, 11.5.1988, p. 9. 
C2) 0J No C 235, 12.9.1988, p. 174. 
(3) 0J No C 175, 4.7.1988, p. 11. 
(4) 
0J No L 17, 21.1.1989, p. 51. 
<5) 0J No L 70, 13.3.1984, p. 16. 
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Whereas the Commission shall submit a report on the operation of the system at 
least every two years, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION : 
Article 1 
Decision 89/45/EEC is amended as follows : 
1. Article 4 is replaced by the following : 
"Article 4 
Detailed procedures for the transmission of the information referred to 
in Article 1 shall be adopted by the Commission following the procedure 
laid down in Article 7." 
2. Article 7 is replaced by the following : 
"Article 7 
1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee of an advisory nature, 
composed of two representatives per Member State and chaired by the 
representative of the Commission. 
2. The committee may examine any problem relating to the implementation 
and administration of the information system which is referred to it 
by its chairman, either on his own initiative or at the request of a 
representative of a Member State. 
3. The representative of the commission shall submit to the committee a 
draft of the measures to be taken or the text on which its opinion is 
requested. The committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft, 
within a time limit which the chairman may lay down according to the 
urgency of the matter, if necessary by taking a vote. 
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The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in addition, each Member 
State shall have the right to ask to have its position recorded in 
the minutes. 
The Commission shall take the utmost account of the opinion delivered 
by the committee. It shall inform the committee of the manner in 
which its opinion has been taken into account." 
3. Article 8 is replaced by the following : 
"Article 8 
The Commission shall submit a report on the operation of the system at least 
every two years." 
Article 2 
This Decision is addressed to the Member States. 
Done at Brussels, For the Council 
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ANNEX 
Page 1. RAPID ALERT SYSTEM 
Liste des sujets qui ont fait l'objet d'un échange rapide d'informations 
depuis janvier 1988 
List of subjects which have been dealt with by the rapid exchange of 
information since January 1988 
Cas alimentaires reçus jusqu'au 23 février 1990 
Food cases received up to 23 February 1990 
Cas en 1988 
Cases in 1988 Date reçue 
Date received 
3/88 Fromage -16-02-1988 
avec moisi 
Cheddar 
with mould 
4/88 Huile d'olive 24-03-1988 
contaminée par tetrachloroéthylène 
Olive oiI 
contaminated with tetrachloroéthylène 
5/88 Verres 24-03-1988 
contenant plomb et cadmium 
Drinking glasses 
containing lead and cadmium 
6/88 Moules 14-04-1988 
contenant Biotoxines 
Mussels 
containing Biotoxins 
7/88 Anchois en conserve 14-04-1988 
l'huiles contaminées par tetrachloroéthylène 
Cans o fanchovies 
oil contaminated with tetrachloroéthylène 
8/88 Pamplemousses 26-04-1988 
contaminées 
Grapefruits 
contaminated 
9/88 Aliments lactés granules sans gluten pour nourissons- 29-04-1988 
contaminées à "Salmonella Bredeney" 
Granulated gluten-free milk based products for 
infants 
contaminated with "Salmonella Bredeney" 
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Page 2. RAPID ALERT SYSTEM 
10/88 Echantillons de lait pasteurisé 
présence de substances "Inhibitrices" 
Samples of pasteurized milk 
presence of the substance "Inhibitrices" 
11/88 Emblème du pâté de Bruxelles 
contenant Salmonella Heidelberg 
Emblem Brussels pâté 
containing Salmonella Heidelberg 
12/88 Conserves du bacon 
contaminés 
Canned bacon 
contaminated 02-05-1988 
20-05-1988 
25-05-1988 
13/88 Emballage auto-chauffants de denrées alimentaires 06-06-1988 
dangereuses 
Self-heating food-containers 
dangerous 
14/88 Menaces anti-Israéliennes d'une organisation inconnue 09-06-1988 
agrumes empoisonnes 
Anti Israelian threats from an unknown organisation 
poisoned citrus fruits 
15/88 Mollusques vivants 
contenant le toxine PSP 
Live molluscs 
containing PSP toxin 02-08-1988 
16/88 Veaux 
hormones 
Veal 
hormones 01-08-1988 
17/88 Mollusque bivalves 
contaminées par Salmonella 
Molluscs 
contaminated with Salmonella 16-08-1988 
18/88 Aliments des nourissions 
contenant Salmonella Thompson 
Infant ofrmulae 
containing Salmonella Thompson 18-08-1988 
19/88 Oeufs cru 
contaminée par Salmonella 
Raw eggs 
contaminated by Salmonella 30-08-1988 
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Rage 3. RAPID ALERT SYSTEM 
20/88 Huiles et les moules 
contaminé par PSP 
Oysters and mussels 
contaminated with PSP 01-09-1988 
21/88 Cola • 
contenant Trichloroéthylène 
Cola 
containing Trichloroéthylène 07-09-1988 
22/88 Mayonaise 
contaminée par des cristaux de sulfate 
Mayonaise 
contaminated with cristalsulfate 20-09-1988 
23/88 Vacherin mont d'or 
contaminé par Salmonella 
Vacherin mont d'or 
contaminated by Salmonella 
24/88 Asperges 
botulisme 
Asparagus 
botulisme 04-11-1988 
11-11-1988 
25/88 Figues sèches 
contaminée par Aflatoxine 
Dried figs 
contaminated by Aflatoxine 
26/88 Salami 
contaminé par Salmonella 
Salami 
contaminated by Salmonella 
27/88 Estomacs de porc congelés 
contaminé par Salmonella 
Frozen pork stomachs 
contaminated by Salmonella 
2 8/88 Anguille congelés 
Importation 
Frozen eels 
Importation 
2-9/88 Confiserie au sucre sous forme d'animal 
réalisées sur fil 
Sugarconfectionary in animal shape 
wi re-mounted 18-11-1988 
21-11-1988 
09-12-1988 
09-12-1988 
10-12-1988 
30488 Queues de crevettes 
plomb 
Tails of prawns 
lead 10-12-88 
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page 4. RAPID ALERT SYSTEM 
29_12_1988 
31/88 Poisson 
avec Zoonose 
Fish 
with Zoonosis 
29-12-1988 32/88 Sanglier trouves morts 
la pest porcine classique 
Wild boar found dead 
the classical swine fever 
Cas en 1989 
Cases in 1989 
1/89 Viande de porc 18-01-89 
Salmonella 
Fresh pork meat 
Salmonella 
2/89 Lavignons 31-01-1989 
PSP 
Scrobicularia plana 
PSP 
3/89 Poisson 03-02-1989 
Zoonose 
Fish 
Zoonosis 
4/89 Conserves de crevettes de de crabe 06-02-1989 
Présence d'EDTA (ethylene diamine tetra-acetate de 
calcium disodique) 
Canned prawns and canned crab 
presence of CDEDTA (calcium disodium ethylene diamine 
tetra acetate) 
5/89 Couteaux et Poulpes, conserves petits 07-02-1989 
présence de cadmium 
razor-clams and octopus canned 
presence of cadmium 
6/89 Fromages du type "Camembert" 17-02-1989 
bactérie Listeria Monocytogene 
Cheeses of the type "Camembert" 
bacteria Listeria Monocytogene 
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Page 5. RAPID ALERT SYSTEM 
Mollusque bivalves sur les Littarol meridional 28-02-1989 
7/89 toxines (PSP) 
Bivalves molluscs of the south Coast 
toxins (PSP) 
8/89 Mollusque bivalves 14-03-1939 
toxines (PSP) 
Bivalves molluscs 
toxins (PSP) 
9/89 Fruits poisonés 14-03-1989 
cyanide 
Poisoned fruit 
cyanide 
Vins 31-03-1989 
10/89 contenant traces de verre 
Wines 
containing glass 
11/89 Poisson 17-04-1989 
histamina 
Fish 
contaminated with hystamina 
12/89 Coquillages 25-05-1989 
dinophysis 
Shellfish 
dinophysis 
13/89 Yaghourt aromatisée par noisette 13-06-1989 
Botulism 
Yoghourt flavoured with hazelnut 
Botulism 
14/89 Champignons 13-06-1989 
staphylocoques 
Mushrooms 
staphylococcal 
15/89 Mollusques vivants 12-06-1989 
toxinePSP 
Live mussels 
PSP toxin 
16/89 Racines de bardane 29-06-1989 
Belladone 
Roots of burdoch 
Deadly nightshade 
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Page 6. RAPID ALERT SYSTEM 
17/89 Pâté 06-07-1989 
Listeria monocytogenes 
Pâté 
Listeria monocytogenes 
18/89 (/,ix destiné à la production du glaces 11-07-1989 
Salmonella enteritidis 
Base material used for the manufacture of ice cream 
Salmonella enteritidis 
19/89 Mollusque bivalves 29-07-1989 
Algues toxiques du type "dinophysis" 
Bivalves molluscs 
Toxic algue of the type "dinophysis" 
20/89 Mayonaise 22-08-1989 
Salmonella 
Mayonaise 
Salmonella 
21/89 Sardines dans l'huile vegetable 18-09-1989 
dépravé 
Sardines in vegetable oil 
spoiled 
22/89 Lait caille de pois chinois mouillés 18-09-1989 
Bacillus cereus 
Wet soybean curd with red rice and brine 
Bacillus cereus 
23/89 Pistaches fraiches 18-09-1989 
Af latoxines 
Pistachio nuts 
Af latoxines 
24/89 Salami 28-11-1989 
contaminé par Salmonella 
Salami 
contaminated by Salmonella 
25/89 Lapin surgelée 28-11-1989 
residue de pesticides 
Rabbits frozen 
residue of pesticides 
26/89 Coquillages 15-12-1989 
Salmonella 
Shell-fish 
Salmonella 
27/89 Fromage 15-12-1989 
Listeria monocytogene 
Cheese 
Listeria monocytogene 
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Page 7. RAPID ALERT SYSTEM 
28/89 Fromage 15-12-1989 
Salmonella DUBLIN 
Cheese 
Salmonella DUBLIN 
Cas en 1990 
Cases in 1990 
1/90 Poivre 18-01-1990 
Ricinus communis 
Allspice 
Ricinus communis 
2/90 eau mineral 16-02-1990 
benzene 
mineral water 
benzene 
3/90 Sardines 23-02-1990 
histamines 
Sardines 
histamines 
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Page 1. RAPID ALERT SYSTEM 
Cas non-alimentaires reçus jusqu'au 3 janvier 1990 
Non-food cases received up to 3 January 1990 
Cas en 1988 Date reçue 
Cases in 1988 Date received 
1/88 Jeu de patience (Labyrinthe) 12-01-1988 
empoisonnement au mercure 
Toy maze 
Mercury poisoning 
2/88 Machine à café électrique 28-01-1988 
choc électrique 
electric coffee maker 
electric shock 
3/88 Jouets gonflants en plastique 11-02-1988 
occlusion intestinale en cas d'ingestion 
expanding toys made from hard plastic 
intestinal obstruction 
4/88 Crayons de cire (jouets) 29-03-1988 
empoisonnement au plomb 
wax crayons 
lead poisoning 
5/88 Bougeoirs 30-03-1988 
danger potential d'incendie 
candlesticks 
fi re 
6/88 Lit-cage d'enfant 26-04-1988 
danger d'étouffement ou de coupure 
child's cot 
strangulation or cuts 
7/88 Jouet 'Crazy Hand' 13-05-1988 
étouffement 
Crazy Hand 
choking 
8/88 'Hotpot* récipient auto-chauffant pour aliments 02-06-1988 
contamination des aliments 
self-heating food container 
food contamination 
9/88 Robot ménagère 06-07-1988 
sectionnement des phalanges 
electric food mixer 
severing of fingers 
10/88 anneau dentaire (type de hochet) 08-08-1988 
étouffement 
teething ring 
choking or suffocation 
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Page 2. RAPID ALERT SYSTEM 
11/88 araignée jouet 07-09-1988 
risque d'avalement 
toy spider 
danger of swallowing 
12/83 pneus d'automobile 'Danubiana' 06-10-1988 
désintégration avec la vitesse 
'Danubiana' car tyres 
disintegration with speed 
13/8$ préservatifs 21-11-1988 
l'éclatement et la porosité 
prophylactics (condoms) 
puncturing and porosity 
14/88 confiserie en forme d'animaux 19-12-1988 
produit tenu ensemble par des morceaux de fils de fer 
confectionery animals 
held together by pieces of wire 
15/88 lampe de table avec 'interrupteur' dimmer 28-11-1988 
electrocution 
table lamp with dimmer switch 
electrocution 
16/88 boule décorative pour arbre de Noel 13-12-1988 
isolation inadéquate, inflammable, peut facilement 
être ouvert, donnant accès aux éléments sous tension 
Christmas tree ball 
poor insulation, flammable, can be easily opened thus 
exposing live parts 
17/88 véhicule tout-terrain à trois roues 13-12-1988 
capotage 
3-wheel all-terrain motorised vehicles 
overturning 
Cas en 1989 
Cases in 1989 
1/89 lampe de table avec poupée 13- 01-1989 
chcc électrique 
table lamp with doll 
electric shock 
2/89 'autel' de la Sainte Vierge, gondole, tableau 28-02-1989 
choc électrique 
Virgin Mary 'Altar', gondola, picture 
electric shock 
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Page 3. RAPID ALERT SYSTEM 
3/89 Grille-pain 15-02-1989 
choc électrique 
toaster 
electric shock 
4/89 lampe-applique 06-03-1989 
choc électrique 
wall-light 
electric shock 
5/89 porte-clé gadget 08-03-1989 
ingestion ou inhalation de produits chimiques, 
brûlure de peau, feu 
novelty key ring 
ingestion or inhalation of toxic chemicals, burns, 
f i re 
6/89 lampe de table halogène 28-06-1989 
choc électrique 
halogen table lamp 
electric shock 
7/89 barre de gymnastique 30-06-1989 
ne résiste pas au poids d'une personne de 75 kg ou plus 
exercise bar 
does not support weight of person over 75 kg 
8/89 luminaire pour ventilateur de plafond 12-07-1989 
choc électrique 
light fitting for ceiling fan 
electric shock 
9/89 masque de plongée 10-08-1989 
asphyxie - taux élevé de C0-
diving mask 
asphyxia - high level of C0? 
10/89 briquets ayant l'apparence de jouets 22-08-1989 
peuvent provoquer brûlure ou incendie 
lighters designed to look like toys 
could cause burns or fires 
11/89 luminaire 'parachute' suspendu 02-10-1989 
choc électrique 
Parachute lamp 
electric shock 
12/89 pneus du type remodelés 'Goldline' 02-11-1989 
n'ont pas passé les tests effectués à des vitesses 
inférieures à leurs seuils 'S' (113mph/180ph) 
Goldline tyres 
when tested failed at speeds below 'S' rating 
(113mph/180ph) 
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Page 4. RAPID ALERT SYSTEM 
13/89 oeufs en chocolat avec un jouet à l'intérieur - 09-11-1989 
'Kinder Surprize' 
étouffement 
chocolate egg containing toy - 'Kinder Surprize' 
choking 
14/89 Latex liquide, nouveauté pour la veille de la toussaint 14-11-1989 
inhalation - nausée, vertige, problèmes respiratoires, 
peut être dangereux pour les yeux et la peau 
liquid latex 
inhalation - nausea, dizziness, respiratory problems, 
could be dangerous to the eyes and skin 
15/89 appareil épilatoire électrique 21-11-1989 
choc électrique 
electric depilatory apparatus 
electric shock 
16/89 cafetière électrique 23-11-1989 
choc électrique 
electric coffee-maker 
electric shock 
17/89 poêle mobile (de chauffage) à pétrole lampant 08-12-1989 
(kérosène) sans dispositif de sécurité 
intoxication par le monoxyde de carbone 
portable paraffin heater without safety device 
carbon monoxide poisoning 
Cas en 1990 
Cases in 1990 
1/90 cruches à eau en céramique 03-01-1990 
empoisonnement au plomb 
ceramic water jugs 
lead poisoning 

ISSN 0254-1475 
COM (90) 172 final 
DOCUMENTS 
EN 05 15 
Catalogue number : CB-CO-90-198-EN-C 
ISBN 92-77-60052-7 
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 
L-2985 Luxembourg