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Product labels on common household chemicals will get a minimum font size and colour, while online sales will have to display the same info as...

In a new compilation of recent product tests by its members – national consumer organisations across Europe – BEUC finds that everyday consumer...

The European Commission today proposed to phase out hormone-disrupting chemicals from toys. If this becomes law, it would be the first time ever –...

The European Commission today published a proposal to improve customs controls. This could help tackle the many challenges authorities face in...

Consumers could be exposing themselves to food-related risks, as they experience a lack of safe use instructions for food containers and kitchenware...

- PDF Document - 80.58 KB

Available in English
On 22 June, Member State experts will be voting in Brussels to change the way the EU protects consumers against harmful substances in cosmetics. The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) is extremely concerned this change could create unacceptable health risks. BEUC calls on all national representatives to reject the Commission's stance.
- PDF Document - 126.6 KB

Available in English
The EU just agreed to restrict over 30 hazardous substances from clothing and other consumer textiles. These substances – which include lead, cadmium and other toxic metals – are used to colour and treat textile products; but they may also cause cancer, harm DNA and reproductive health. BEUC welcomes that the EU is finally tackling these problematic substances but highlights that much work remains to protect consumers against harmful chemicals in textiles, such as endocrine disruptors or allergens.
- PDF Document - 209.59 KB

Available in English, French
Today the European Commission proposed to beef up checks of consumer goods available in the EU such as toys, phones or TVs.1 The main proposal is to increase EU Commission staff to assist Member States in better monitoring the merchandise that ends up on the market.

The products we use in our everyday lives should not harm us. Keeping EU product safety and chemicals legislation up to date is therefore paramount. BEUC’s safety team advocates laws and policies that will protect consumers from harm and which reflect the way products and markets are evolving.

We urge the EU to minimise consumers’ exposure to harmful chemicals, as tests by BEUC members frequently find such chemicals in products such as cosmetics, food packaging, and toys. ‘Safety’ considerations are no longer confined to real-world risks affecting people physically: connected products that lack basic security features are also an increasing source of worry.

In recent years, we have repeatedly alerted authorities that unsafe or otherwise non-compliant products are increasingly sold via online marketplaces. Our work also looks at how market surveillance is conducted in the European Single Market.

Finally, we call for improvements to the EU’s product liability law which exists to protect and compensate consumers if they suffer physical or financial harm from a defective product. Among others, we think that all kinds of damage should be covered, the burden of proof should be reversed, and that online marketplaces should also become liable. 

  • Improve the safety and security of products sold on the EU market, both in brick-and-mortar shops and online. We look at horizontal (General Product Safety Regulation) and sector-specific (e.g., on toy safety) legislation in this regard.
  • Contribute to effective market surveillance and enforcement of legislation.
  • Minimise exposure for consumers and the environment to dangerous chemicals.
  • Adequately and urgently address the potential risks posed by hormone disrupting chemicals (endocrine disruptors).