Safety of products and services

When you buy a product or a service, you legitimately expect that it is not dangerous. What are the rules which ensure this safety?

Standards are produced so that consumers can be assured that products are manufactured to a minimum specification. Products are tested to ensure that they are safe and do not contain components or ingredients that could be harmful when they are used.

You can find out more about a whole range of safety issues in the Consumer Safety section of Dolceta.

Introduction to safety

Each year, hundreds of new products are put on the market. Some of these may turn out to be dangerous to use, for example badly designed fireworks or a toy with a part or feature likely to wound a child. In order to limit these risks and reduce the number of accidents, legislation requires that all products placed on the market must be safe to use. Read more

Safety precautions

There is no such thing as a risk-free product or service. Risks and dangers can be evaluated only according to the circumstances in which one can reasonably suppose that a product or service will be used. Consequently, consumers have to be attentive and take some care when using any product. Read more

Safety marks

Every product available in the European Union should be safe. There are a range of marks that are used to help consumers identify those products that have met certain safety standards. This section of the website considers safety marks such as the CE mark and the Lion mark. Read more

Monitoring safety

The European Union has fixed various safety requirements for all goods and services marketed within its boundaries. The monitoring of the application of these rules is ensured by the Member States and is co-ordinated at European level. You can find out more about the monitoring of the market in the ’Product recall’ section of Dolceta. Read more

Liability for defective products

If the head of your new hammer comes off and injures you, then you are probably entitled to compensation for this injury. This is because manufacturers can be held responsible for producing defective products and any damage or harm caused by their use. You can find out more about product liability in the Legal aspects of product safety section of Dolceta. Read more

An example - toy safety

A number of products have specific safety requirements that apply to them. In this section, the special rules relating to toy safety are considered as an example. Toys are intended for a specific group of consumers: children, so there are some specific safety measures that have been put in place to ensure the safety of children when playing with toys. In relation to the law, the term ’toy’ refers to those items designed or specifically intended as a toy or game for a child under 14 years of (...) Read more