General Product Safety Regulation
The General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) is a European regulation aimed at ensuring the safety of consumer products within the European Union. The GPSR is essentially an upgrade of the previous General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) and includes additional and stricter requirements to ensure that products placed on the European market are safe for consumers.
Scope of the GPSR
The GPSR applies to all non-food products offered to consumers within the European Union, unless a product is covered by other specific EU legislation (such as for toys, medical devices, or electrical appliances). For all other products, the GPSR provides a general legal framework to ensure product safety.
Obligations for Economic Operators
The GPSR imposes obligations on various economic operators to ensure that products remain safe throughout their entire lifecycle. Below is an overview of the main obligations for manufacturers, importers, distributors and providers of an online marketplace. Good to know: providers of online marketplaces are not considered economic operators under the GPSR. However, they are separately designated and carry many specific obligations.
Manufacturer
The manufacturer plays a key role in product safety and has the following obligations:
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Design and produce safe products that comply with applicable European safety requirements.
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Conduct risk analysis and conformity assessment to identify and manage potential hazards.
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Maintain technical documentation and, where applicable, affix a CE marking to the product.
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Ensure product identification, for example through serial numbers or batch numbers, to facilitate traceability.
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Warn consumers of identified risks and proactively initiate recall actions when necessary.
Importer
The importer is responsible for ensuring the safety of products imported from outside the EU:
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Verify that products comply with European safety standards and that the manufacturer has conducted the necessary conformity assessments.
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Display their own name and address on the product to ensure traceability.
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Monitor product safety by maintaining information on product risks and cooperating with market surveillance authorities.
Distributor
Distributors are responsible for the safety of products they place on the market:
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Check the safety of products before delivering them to consumers, ensuring that products are correctly labeled and include appropriate instructions.
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Collaborate with regulatory authorities in investigating potential risks and inform consumers if safety issues arise.
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Maintain traceability by keeping records of the products they distribute.
Online Marketplace
Online marketplaces play a crucial role in the GPSR, as they serve as the gateway for many products sold on the European market. The GPSR imposes the following obligations on them:
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Proactively detect and remove hazardous products, for instance by regularly consulting information on unsafe products via the Safety Gate Portal, a European rapid alert system.
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Take responsibility for product safety by actively identifying, tracking, and removing dangerous products from their platform.
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Cooperate with market surveillance authorities by promptly informing them if hazardous products are detected on their platform and taking actions to protect consumers.
Active Monitoring by Regulatory Authorities
To ensure compliance with the GPSR, market surveillance authorities, such as the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), will actively monitor product safety. This involves conducting inspections, following up on reports, and, where necessary, enforcing measures against economic operators who do not comply with the GPSR. This approach provides consumers with a high level of product safety across the European Union.
The GPSR contributes to a safer European market by obligating all parties in the supply chain to actively commit to the safety of consumer products.