Report highlights products withdrawn on safety grounds

Hair-dryers, mini motorbikes, ski boot bindings, cleaning sprays and even wigs were among the 924 products which were swept off the shelves under the rapid alert system known as RAPEX.

The system aims to ensure that information about dangerous products identified by the national authorities is quickly circulated throughout the 30 European countries currently participating in the scheme - which includes all EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

Recent cases included an alert this week by the UK authorities about a counterfeit Superman toy containing lead paint. The UK also recently notified the system about dangerous novelty lights, faulty night lights with no fuses and mini-motorcycles with faults including badly welded suspension and insecure brakes.

Toys accounted for almost a quarter (24%) of notifications in 2006, followed by electrical appliances (19%) and motor vehicles (14%). Other products which featured often were lighting equipment (98 notifications) and cosmetics (48 notifications).

In almost half the cases where an EU-wide alert was issued and acted upon, the goods were made in China - 440 products, or 48% of the total.

Up by one-third

The latest RAPEX annual report showed that the number of "serious risk" goods reported through the system last year was a third higher than the 701 items in 2005. In 2004, the first year of the RAPEX operation, 388 dangerous items were targeted.

However, the European Commission said the increase reflected an improvement in EU-wide co-operation between customs authorities, which meant more risky goods were being identified.

"This Rapid Alert System is a powerful watchdog and an excellent example of European value added," said European Commissioner for Consumer affairs, Meglena Kuneva.

"The constant increase in the number of measures notified is a good sign, it shows that vigilance across Europe is getting better and better. Today's annual report shows that the system in 2006 is working better than ever before. My task is to make it grow to its full potential."

Voluntary measures

More than 40% of all notifications involved voluntary measures taken by businesses keen to pass on the warning to the rest of Europe via the RAPEX system - a clear indication of growing safety awareness, said Ms Kuneva.

One quarter of the warnings were of general injuries, followed by risks of electric shocks (24%), burns (18%) and choking or suffocation (14%).

The system does not include food, pharmaceuticals or medical devices, which are covered by other EU consumer safety laws.

Five countries accounted for 60% of all notifications. Germany issued 144 alerts, followed by 140 in Hungary, 98 in Greece, 92 in the UK (10%) and 79 in Spain.

Weekly RAPEX notifications can be viewed on the European Commission's website, from where the 2006 RAPEX report can also be downloaded - see links above/right.