Notification of unsafe consumer products

Do you manufacture, distribute, or sell consumer products (non-food)? And do you discover your product is unsafe? You must report this and take action to prevent health risks. The authorities will check if your measures are appropriate. You may be fined if you fail to report or do not take appropriate measures. Or you may receive a written warning or official report. 

Reporting an unsafe product 

If you discover an unsafe product, you must: 

• submit a notification through the European Product Safety Business Alert Gateway
• remove the unsafe products from the market
• inform consumers about your unsafe product
• inform other market participants, responsible authorities and online marketplace providers about the safety issues
• as an importer: inform the producer of the product
• as a distributor: inform the importer and producer of the product 

Safety warning to consumers 

After reporting your unsafe product, you must inform consumers with a safety warning (in Dutch). You must publish the safety warning on your website and social media channels. You must also supply the safety warning to the responsible authority. Your safety warning must be clear about which products are unsafe, which risks they carry, and what the consumer can do. 

The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (Nederlandse Voedsel- en Warenautoriteit, NVWA) publishes all safety warnings on their website (in Dutch). Safety warnings are also published on the European Safety Gateway. 

After the notification 

After you report an unsafe product the supervising authority will assess: 

• if your risk assessment was done correctly,
• how high the risk is to consumers’ health and safety,
• if you complied with the rules, and
• if you take the appropriate measures to remove potential danger caused by your product 

European notification 

The responsible authority may make a RAPEX notification (Rapid Exchange of Information) to the European Commission. For instance, if the (non-food) consumer product is sold in several countries. Or if the product is found to be dangerous. 

Responsible authorities in the Netherlands 

• the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (Nederlandse Voedsel- en Warenautoriteit, NVWA)
• the Dutch Authority for Digital Infrastructure (Rijksinspectie Digitale Infrastructuur, RDI)
• the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (Inspectie Leefomgeving Transport, ILT)
• the Netherlands Labour Authority (Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie, NLA)
• the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate (Inspectie Gezondheidszorg en Jeugd, IGJ)