Product Safety
The national regulator of product safety, for products aimed at the consumer market, is the Office of Product Safety and Standards
Isle of Wight Trading Standards has a duty to enforce the Regulations in relation to consumer goods; however, we aim to work with businesses to get things right, rather than taking enforcement action.
The Health and Safety Executive has responsibility for products sold for commercial use.
Responsibilities of businesses
Businesses that produce (manufacture), import, distribute or sell consumer products in the UK are responsible for:
- Making sure the products are safe for consumers to use
- Following the legal requirements in relation to labelling
- Providing adequate warnings for safe use
- Only selling products if they can appropriately demonstrate their compliance with product safety regulations
The General Product Safety Regulations 2005
The General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (GPSR) require all products to be safe in their normal or reasonably foreseeable usage. Enforcement authorities have powers to take appropriate action when this obligation is not met.
For some product sectors, there are also specific regulations setting out essential safety requirements. Where there is crossover with the GPSR, the product-specific legislation usually takes precedence.
Since 31 December 2020, product safety provisions are applied differently in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) compared to Northern Ireland. This continues to be the case while the Northern Ireland Protocol is in force. Consequently, there is separate guidance for businesses selling products in Northern Ireland.
A safe product is one that does not present any unnecessary risk to anyone when they use the product in a normal and reasonably foreseeable way.
In assessing the safety of products, businesses must take account of (among other things):
- The packaging, all accompanying instructions, and any other labelling
- The effect of the product on other products with which it may foreseeably be used
- The special needs of particular classes of person, especially children
UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) marking
UKCA stands for “UK Conformity Assessed”. It is the British version of the European Union's CE marking. CE, as well as the UKCA mark, are not quality indicators or certification marks. UKCA marking is a similar provision as the CE marking, however applicable for UK laws and the UK market. It also applies to aerosol products that previously required the 'reverse epsilon' marking.
The technical requirements ('essential safety requirements') that businesses must meet, and the conformity assessment processes and standards that businesses can use to demonstrate conformity, are largely the same as they were for the CE marking.
UKCA marking
The UK Government has announced that the CE mark may continue to be applied to most goods for an indefinite period. This follows the previous deadline of 24 December 2024, by which businesses were to use the UKCA mark instead.
The Regulations do not apply to:
- medical devices
- construction products
- marine equipment
- rail products
- cableways
- transportable pressure equipment
- unmanned aircraft systems
Sector-specific arrangements apply to these goods.
Useful information found on the following trusted web sites:
Business Companion is a national Trading Standards website. It provides information about Trading Standards and consumer protection legislation.
The Product safety guides provided by Business Companion cover a wide range of topics.
If you need more help or advice, email trading.standards@iow.gov.uk.