For safe consumer products: The RAPEX Government Authority Network for Consumer Health Protection in Europe
The Rapid Alert System RAPEX (Rapid Exchange of Information System) is an established instrument throughout Europe to rapidly and effectively protect consumers from consumer products that may pose a health risk.
- What is the Rapid Alert System RAPEX?
- What products does RAPEX warn about?
- Who does what within RAPEX?
- Where can the information, notifications, and alerts be found?
- How does RAPEX work?
- What are the responsibilities of the BVL within the scope of RAPEX?
- Some figures on RAPEX: How many notifications are published?
What is the Rapid Alert System RAPEX?
Source: pixabay.com
Alert and inform about consumer products that are hazardous to health: The Rapid Exchange of Information System (RAPEX) established a health protection network in the European Economic Area in which authorities exchange information on hazardous consumer products in real time.
Originally, it was only designed for the direct exchange of information among authorities. In the meantime, alerts on consumer products posing a health risk can be viewed on a publicly accessible platform on the internet. Members of the network are the European Commission and all states of the European Economic Area, i.e., the 27 EU Member States, plus Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein.
What products does RAPEX warn about?
RAPEX warns about products that consumers may come into contact with in their daily lives. This may include cars, mobile phones, consumer electronics, cosmetics, and toys. Substances in consumer products that are hazardous to human health and exceed the legally defined limit may trigger an alert.
In cosmetics, this could be products such as creams, toothpaste or shampoo. Articles of daily use, such as toys, clothing and jewellery, as well as tobacco products, could also be the subject of alerts.
Who does what within RAPEX?
Short notification channels, closely-knit connections, and clear hierarchies: The RAPEX network includes local monitoring authorities, contact points in the German federal states, and hubs in the member states as well as in the European Commission.
In Germany, the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin, BAuA) acts as the national contact point. In this capacity, the institute acts as the link between the competent surveillanceauthorities in Germany on the one hand, and the European Commission and the other member states on the other.
The Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) is an interface between the BAuA and the federal states for some of the notifications on consumer products: This concerns cosmetics, tattoo products, articles of daily use (such as toys, clothing and jewellery), and tobacco products.
Where can the information, notifications, and alerts be found?
All RAPEX contact points, authorities and institutions, are connected with each other via an online platform. All network members are available around the clock. Thus, an immediate information exchange is ensured.
The transmission of information for the network members takes place via the online application “Safety Gate RAPEX“, which is managed by the European Commission.
In addition, consumers, companies, and interest groups are informed by both the European Commission (Safety Gate) and by the BAuA on essential contents of the respective notification.
Notifications on cosmetics or items of consumer goods, i.e,. products within the BVL’s area of responsibility, may also be communicated to the general public on the portal lebensmittelwarnung.de.
How does RAPEX work?
If a consumer product is found to be objectionable, for example in the course of an official control, during inspections in cross-border trade, during a company's own inspection or on the basis of a consumer complaint, and if the consumer product poses a potential health risk, the competent authorities will take action. The authorities prepare a draft RAPEX notification via the online platform “Safety Gate RAPEX“. This draft contains all essential information on the identification of the product, on possible hazards, on product tracing and distribution, but also on any measures already taken.
The draft is then sent to the national contact point (in Germany, this is the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA)). At this level, each notification is carefully checked, in some cases translated and then forwarded for validation to the European Commission. Originating from the European Commission, the notifications are then distributed to all contact points of the network members. The contact points can then take their own required country-specific measures and conduct further investigations, if necessary. The system is dynamic: All further, current and relevant information that the notifying country or other RAPEX members may have is shared as soon as possible through so-called “follow-up notifications“ on the platform.
What are the responsibilities of the BVL within the scope of RAPEX?
Due to the extraordinary scope of the product range in RAPEX, different agencies are involved within Germany depending on the type of product. For example, notifications about substance and microbial risks in cosmetics, tattooing products, tobacco products and items of daily use such as textiles and toys (monitoring of consumer products) are first submitted to the BVL by the competent authorities.
Source: © BVL
The BVL checks the draft notification for completeness and comprehensiveness, transfers the information to the Safety Gate RAPEX and transmits it within the system to the national contact point of the BAuA. The BAuA then forwards the notification to the European Commission. The European Commission validates the notification and makes it available to all members of the network.
Some figures on RAPEX: How many notifications are published?
With its approximately 2,000 notifications annually, RAPEX makes a crucial contribution to the safety of consumer products and thus to the protection of consumers from health hazards in times that are characterised by the global flow of goods. The German authorities play a major role in this. Thus, Germany was the front-runner among the network members in 2020 with 430 notifications generated!