Brussels – Product safety alerts doubled between 2022 and 2025: last year, 4,671 reports were recorded by the rapid alert system for non-food products, the Safety Gate System, the highest number recorded since the system was launched in 2003, an increase of 13% compared to 2024 and more than double the number of alerts reported in 2022. This is according to the Safety Gate 2025 Report by the European Commission, which highlights the strengthening of consumer protection in the single market. At the same time, national authorities have stepped up their interventions, carrying out a record 5,794 actions, including the withdrawal of goods from the market and border blocks, marking a 35% increase year-on-year.
The most frequently reported product categories include cosmetics (36 per cent), toys (16 per cent) and electrical appliances (11 per cent). The main threat is posed by chemical risks, which account for 53 per cent of notifications, followed by injuries (14 per cent) and suffocation (9 per cent). In particular, 80 per cent of alerts on cosmetics concern BMCHA, a banned fragrance that is harmful to the reproductive system, while the first cases of nail polish containing TPO, a substance banned from 2025 due to prenatal health risks, have been detected.
“The record number of reports recorded in 2025 through the Safety Gate system shows that the European product safety framework is becoming more robust, more effective and, above all, essential. National authorities are identifying dangerous products more quickly and withdrawing them faster,” said Michael McGrath, European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection. “From identifying banned chemicals in cosmetics to unsafe toys or household appliances, the Commission and national authorities now have an increasingly comprehensive tool to ensure that all products sold in the EU meet the highest safety standards,” McGrath concluded.
The system, formerly known as RAPEX, is now governed by General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR), which imposes strict obligations on online sales as well. In addition, by the end of 2025, more than 1,200 online marketplaces had registered with the Safety Gate portal to facilitate the removal of dangerous listings. And tools such as the eSurveillance Webcrawler have scanned 1.6 million websites, identifying over 20,800 products that had already been reported.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
