The European Commission published its annual Safety Gate report for 2023 on 14 March 2024. With 32% of notifications recorded, cosmetics were the type of product most frequently reported as presenting a health risk, while the number of total alerts rose sharply: 3412 vs 2117 in 2022.
2023 marked the highest amount of alerts recorded since the launch of the system in 2003, “which speaks to its increasing effectiveness and the crucial role it plays,” the Commission press release says.
This report covers alerts notified in 2023 in the Safety Gate, the European Rapid Alert System for dangerous non-foods products, as well as the corresponding follow-up actions taken by national authorities of the EU Member States, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.
Risks related to chemicals, injuries, choking, and risks to the environment were the most notified.
Cosmetics topped the most common categories of product notified, followed by toys, motor vehicles, electrical appliances, and clothes.
“This can be explained by an increased level of monitoring of cosmetics from market surveillance authorities to check for the presence of banned dangerous chemical ingredients,” the Commission says.
Most of the cosmetics notified were reported to contain BMHCA (Butylphenyl methylpropional) substance parfumante interdite depuis mars 2022 par le Règlement 2020/1182.
However, there are differences between the various countries. For example, while cosmetic products rank first in notifications for Europe as a whole with 32%, this figure can vary considerably from one country to another:
• Italy: 80%
• Spain: 75%
• Hungary: …
