NCA guide to product safety
Introduction
Safety should always be among your top priorities when you're buying any product.
Certain types of products must comply with specific safety regulations. These products include:
- Toys
- Electrical devices and gas appliances
- Personal protective gear, such as bicycle helmets or dust masks for DIY work
The CE mark
If these products are sold in the EU, they must comply with safety standards.
They should carry the CE mark - a white rectangular label with the letters CE in black lettering.
Always look for the CE mark whenever you are shopping around for these types of items. You should find the mark on the product itself, or in its manual or on its packaging.
If you find one of these products without a CE mark, don’t buy it and contact the National Consumer Agency with details of the product and of the place where you saw it on sale.
Find out more about your consumer rights and prices below.
General Product Safety Regulations
For all other products not covered by a specific regulation, there is a set of catch-all General Product Safety Regulations.
Their purpose is to impose a duty on everyone in the supply chain to ensure that products they handle do not pose a danger to health and safety when used in a reasonable, foreseeable way and subject to normal wear and tear.
Sometimes inherent risks exist - in candles, for example - and in such cases there is a duty on producers to provide adequate warnings to consumers about such dangers and advise on safe use.
Toy safety
In terms of safety regulations, toys are defined as any product or material clearly intended to be used in play by children under the age of 14.
They include dolls, teddy bears, sit on/ride on toys, building blocks, toy guns, and imitation adult equipment such as toy cookers.
But they do not include:
- Christmas decorations
- Babies' dummies
- Bicycles designed for the public highway
- Certain videogame platforms (such as Gameboys, but not Playstations)
Remember too that the toy safety regulations do not include "playthings" such as sports equipment, aquatic equipment, darts with metal points, fashion jewellery for children, slings and catapults.
Appropriate age
Always use your common sense when buying gifts for children. Pay attention to labels that warn about whether the toy is suitable for a particular age group. And don't give the wrong kind of products to children who are under the age specified on the product.
For example, a chemistry set for 11-year-olds would be totally inappropriate in the hands of a five-year-old.
Even if a product is not a toy as defined by the regulations, it must still be safe in accordance with the General Product Safety Regulations.
Child car seats
Since 2006, it is mandatory for children up to 1.5 metres in height (about 11 to 12 years of age) to be appropriately restrained while travelling in a car - either in a child seat, in a booster seat or on a booster cushion.
All car seats must comply with relevant European safety standards. The National Consumer Agency monitors the safety of products in Ireland under a number of European directives.
Safety instructions
Only "safe products" can be placed on the market, and the need to supply safety instructions - including installation directions - is a key element associated with the safety of a product.
When buying a child's car seat:
- Only buy from reputable retailers
- Check that it is suitable for the age and weight of the child and that it fits the car. If unsure, ask an expert
- Make sure that assembly and installation instructions are included with the car seat
- Double check to ensure that you have followed all the instructions and that the seat is fitted correctly
Properly qualified staff
With many kinds of electrical equipment (such as a cooker) or any gas appliance, you will need a properly qualified person to install the device.
They should have the relevant certification or registration.
For example, when getting a gas boiler installed, always use a Registered Gas Installer.
Check for a Registered Gas Installer in your area
Check the Electrical Contractors Safety and Standards Association or the Register of Electrical Contractors of Ireland for a list of registered electrical contractors in your area.
Product recalls
Sometimes a manufacturer or their distributor (such as a supermarket or a garage) will withdraw a product - or a particular batch - because it is potentially hazardous or has some other kind of defect. This is known as a "product recall".
It's not always possible for them to contact customers directly because they may have lost track of them, so they will place advertisements in the media, and put up warning notices in shops etc.
In the recent past, major product recalls have included:
- Certain makes of cars
- Medicines
- Chocolate bars
- Food products containing a potentially carcinogenic food colouring
- Notebook computer batteries
While recalls form a tiny percentage of the total products out there, it is well worth keeping up with the latest news on this website about recalls of potentially dangerous items.
The EU also has a centralised rapid alert system for unsafe products called RAPEX. It covers all products likely to be used by consumers except for food and medicines (which have similar but separate systems).
What to do
If you have a product named in an alert, check whether you are affected. In particular, look at the product details such as whether a specific batch is being recalled or whether the recall affects particular markets such as Ireland.
The onus is on manufacturers and their distributors to put products on the market that are safe. If they believe a product poses a hazard, they are legally obliged to take the necessary steps to protect users.
Your rights
Under consumer law, if you buy goods that are defective you are also entitled to a refund or - where appropriate - a replacement or a free repair from the shop.
You may also be entitled to compensation from the producer for damage caused by a defect in the product.
Food and medicine alerts
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) enforces food safety regulations.
If a product appears unsafe for human consumption report it and environmental health officers may visit the premises and test the product in question.
The Irish Medicines Board and the Department of Health and Children handle recalls of dangerous medical drugs and other medical products.
The NCA's role
The National Consumer Agency is responsible for market surveillance and investigates complaints about the safety of products.
The NCA's work reduces the likelihood of consumers encountering unsafe products. If you think a product is unsafe, forward details about it immediately to the NCA to investigate.
Contact the NCA's consumer helpline number at Lo-call 1890 432 432 or (01) 4025545 or email us
Return to the web version of our guide to product safety
http://www.consumerconnect.ie/eng/Hot_Topics/Guides-to-Consumer-Law/Product-safety/