What was on the EU's most unsafe products list in 2021?

The European Commission has published its annual 'Safety Gate' report on dangerous non-food products with motor vehicles, toys and electrical appliances coming top of the list.

The report covers alerts made throughout 2021 and the actions taken by authorities in response.  As Covid continues to rumble on, personal protective equipment such as face masks also accounted for a substantial number of product alerts.

Read more: What the EU's Digital Markets Act means for tech giants

As a response to the shift to shift towards online shopping seen during the pandemic, the Commission also announced the launch of a new online surveillance tool dubbed "web crawler", which it said can help national authorities to better detect offers of unsafe products online and remove them from the market.

The Commission said that the web crawler would "harmonise the current fragmented approach and address the challenges of monitoring the online sales of dangerous products," and that it would lead to improved consumer protection.

Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders described Safety Gate as a vital tool for keeping consumers safe, and that he was proud of the system upgrade.

"It is very important that the Safety Gate is adapted to fit into the new consumer environment. This way, we can ensure that the Safety Gate can remain an efficient tool for the Single Market, protecting consumers in all circumstances," he said, adding that it had also helped ensure standards of medical equipment throughout the pandemic.

Read more: EU beefs up dangerous chemicals laws to protect workers

The report's main findings showed that 2142 alerts were exchanged across the system last year. It was the first time that the "motor vehicles" category received the largest number, though it was pointed out that these alerts were largely related to what it described only as "technical problems".

Of more concern, however, alerts about toys - which received the second-highest number - largely focussed on the presence of dangerous chemicals and button batteries.

"Electrical appliances and equipment" came in at number three with most of the alerts pertaining to overheating issues or the exposure of live parts.

In light of the pandemic, Covid-related items also received alerts with facemasks being under the spotlight in particular. 

The report also identified the five overall most common reported risks as personal injuries, chemicals, fire, choking and electric shocks.

Read more: The EU wants to end fast fashion by 2030

First established in 2004 as the European Rapid Alert System, the name was changed to Safety Gate in 2018. It records all notifications made throughout 2021 about unsafe non-food consumer products, such as cosmetics, clothing, childcare products, and professional products such as trucks and machinery. Medical, pharmaceutical and food are covered by their own specific alert systems. 

All 27 EU Member States are part of the system, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

Back to Homepage

Back to Consumer Goods