The Office for Product Safety and Standards and the British Standards Institution (BSI) have joined forces to publish the first government-backed voluntary Code of Practice for product safety recall in the UK. The move follows recommendations from safety experts commissioned by the Government. The aim is to assist businesses to understand what they need to do if something goes wrong with their product.
It applies to recalls of all non-food consumer products placed on the market in the UK, except where there are already recall processes such as for automotive or pharmaceutical products. In addition it explains and applies existing legal requirements to be met by businesses or regulators.
The Code has two parts:
The first part is focused on non-food consumer products and is mainly directed at manufacturers, importers and distributors. It includes details on the following: how to plan for a recall; managing a possible safety related product recall; implementing mechanisms to monitor the safety of products; and investigating potential product safety issues.
The second part is aimed at regulators, specifically Market Surveillance Authorities including local authority Trading Standards. It gives information on how they can fulfill their regulatory role to ensure businesses meet their product safety responsibilities by monitoring incidents and supporting businesses in creating their 'product safety incident plan'.
The Code is not freely available, but may be purchased from BSI's website.
As always, if you have a legal query please get in touch with the FSB Legal Helpline on 0345 0727727 and we'll be happy to assist you.