Jiří Filip Press Release: A total of 2021 European countries participated this year in the CASP 19 project, i.e. the Coordinated Activities for Product Safety, including the Czech Republic. This project enables all market surveillance authorities (MSA) from the countries of the European Union and the European Economic Area to cooperate to increase the safety of products placed on the single European market.
The goal of the CASP project is to ensure a safe single market by equipping the supervisory authorities with the necessary tools for jointly testing products placed on the market, determining their risks and developing common procedures. In addition, this project aims to encourage mutual discussion and allow the exchange of ideas for further practices and to educate economic operators and the public on product safety issues.
How CASP works
CASP projects help MSA bodies work together in line with their priorities. Different groups of products are selected for the project every year, this year they were toys manufactured outside the EU, electric toys, e-cigarettes and liquids, adjustable cradles and baby swings, personal protective accessories and dangerous counterfeits. CASP's activities are divided into two main groups, namely the joint testing of products placed on the single market in accredited laboratories, the determination of the risks they may pose, and the development of joint positions and procedures. The second group is horizontal activities whose goal is a discussion leading to the preparation of a common methodology and overall harmonization of procedures. This year, CASP has added a hybrid group of activities that combines practical procedures and the use of test results with the deepening of the horizontal plane. This procedure was used for the group of dangerous forgeries.
Product testing results
As part of the testing, a total of 627 samples were checked in accordance with the harmonized sampling methodology defined for each product category. Selection of samples
was carried out on the basis of a preliminary selection of individual market surveillance authorities in accordance with the specific needs of individual markets. The samples were always tested in one accredited laboratory.
The project revealed the most serious shortcomings in the category of toys manufactured outside the EU, where a total of 92 products were tested and 77 of them did not meet the testing requirements. Only slightly more than half of the samples passed the testing criteria in the adjustable cradles and baby swings category (54 out of 105). The categories electric toys performed better (97 out of a total of 130 products), e-cigarettes and liquids (137 out of a total of 169 products) and personal protective equipment (91 out of a total of 131 products). The testing also determined the overall riskiness of the products, and serious or high risk was found in a total of 120 products, moderate risk in 26 products, and no or low risk in 162 products.
Recommendations for consumers
Consumers should watch Safety Gate system, as it contains relevant information about products with safety issues that have been withdrawn from the market and banned. They should also pay special attention to the warnings and labels attached to the products. And of course, when shopping, choose only products from trusted retail channels. Likewise, it is important to shop from reliable sellers who can possibly help resolve any security or other issue related to the purchase.
