Trading Standards has responsibilities for regulating the safety of consumer products on the UK market.
Consumer
If you have concerns regarding the safety of a consumer product please report it through Advice Direct Scotland..
Please provide as much information about the product, place and date of purchase, manufacturer/retailer details, and the reason for your concern. This will be passed to Trading Standards for further investigation.
Product Recalls
Product recalls are issued by traders or regulating authorities when a product is found to be unsafe and could affect public safety.
A list of current consumer product recalls is held by the Office for Product Safety and Standards.
Business
If you manufacture, import, or distribute consumer products in the UK, you are responsible for ensuring that they are safe for use, and for complying with all product safety obligations.
The General Product Safety Regulations 2005 require all products to be safe in normal or reasonably foreseeable use. There are also specific regulations for some products which set out their essential safety requirements.
Products should only be placed on the market or sold if they are in compliance with all relevant product safety regulations.
Please visit the Business Companion and Office for Product Safety and Standards websites for more guidance on product safety compliance for business.
PAS 7050:2022 – Bringing Safe Products to Market
The British Standards Institution (BSI) has published a Code of Practice to support business with bringing safe products to the market. The Code provides guidance on building plans and processes targeting product safety.
PAS 7050:2022 can be downloaded for free from the BSI website.
PAS 7100:2022 – Code of Practice on consumer product safety related recalls and other corrective actions
The PAS provides practical guidance to help ensure businesses can act promptly and effectively to protect public safety should a consumer product be found to be unsafe. The PAS is aimed at non-food consumer products and is intended for use by manufacturers, importers, and distributors, irrespective of size.
PAS 7100:2022 can be downloaded for free from the BSI Website.
If you are a business and require to inform us, as a market surveillance authority, of a product safety risk, or require further advice in relation to your product safety obligations, please contact trading standards.