One of the basic rights consumers have is to have only safe products on the market.
According to the Product Safety Act, consumers should only have access to safe products. This law specifically regulates the safety of non-food products which should not cause any risk to the safety and health of consumers, as long as the products are used by consumers according to instructions and normal usage.
The enforcement of this legislation is the responsibility of the Market Surveillance Directorate within the Malta Standards Authority. When an unsafe product is reported or discovered through an ad hoc inspection, which the Market Surveillance Directorate regularly carries out at the premises of economic operators around Malta and Gozo, the necessary actions are taken to remove such products from the market.
On confirming that the products detected are dangerous to consumers, the Malta Standards Authority is also responsible for notifying the European Commission about such dangerous products.
This is done through the Rapex system. Through Rapex, market surveillance authorities in EU member states and the European Commission share information about dangerous products found on the European market and communicate to consumers the potential risk to their health and safety.
The main objective of this rapid alert system is to divulge information about identified dangerous products and hence ensure that only safe consumer products are placed on the European internal market.
The authority has recently issued notifications on three dangerous products found on the Maltese market. All three products fall under the category of ‘toys’. Two are puzzle mats and can be described as foam rubber mats that interlock.
One of these mats contains small parts in the shape of numbers and images of objects and other shapes.
The other puzzle mat contains images of animals, reptiles, insects and fish that can be dismantled into smaller parts.
These foam mats are considered dangerous, as they pose choking risks due to small parts that are easily detachable from the larger ones and could be swallowed by a child.
The country of origin of these mats is Taiwan. These products do not comply with the Toys Directive and with the relevant European Standard EN 71.
The distributors of these puzzle mats have voluntarily agreed to stop their sale and to withdraw them from the market.
The third dangerous toy product that has been notified is a tricycle intended for toddlers and made of plastic. The country of origin is Mexico.
The product poses injury risks because a child can strike, sit or fall on the protruding plastic ignition key.
The manufacturers of this tricycle have agreed to rectify the model to make it safe for small children and have also voluntarily agreed to recall the sold tricycles from consumers.
Unsafe non-food products may be reported to the Market Surveillance Directorate within the Malta Standards Authority by calling 2395 2000.
For more information on this subject visit the following websites: http://msa.org.mt/marketsurveillance/index.html , or http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/safety/rapex/market_surveillance_en.htm .
customer@timesofmalta.com
odette.vella@gov.mt
Ms Vella is senior information officer, Consumer and Competition Department.