The EU received the highest number of warnings about unsafe toys, cosmetics and consumer goods last year, the European Commission says.
The EU’s SafetyGate allows members of the public, consumer organisations and local authorities to warn about hazardous toys, phones and other products.
Last year a record 4,671 alerts were notified in the Safety Gate system.
European Commissioner for Consumer Protection, Michael McGrath, said that shows the reporting mechanism is working well:
“The record number of alerts reported in 2025 through the Safety Gate system demonstrates that Europe’s product safety framework is becoming stronger, more effective, and – most importantly – essential.
National authorities are detecting dangerous products more quickly and removing them faster. From identifying banned chemicals in cosmetics to unsafe toys or home appliances, the Commission and national authorities now have an increasingly comprehensive toolbox to ensure that all products sold in the EU meet the highest safety standards.”
The largest number of alerts – more than one thousand – were posted by Italy. Ireland posted 94 warnings, but from 71 in 2024.
More than a quarter of those was over concerns for toys. One third of the warnings were about the risk of chocking.
“In addition to providing input for Safety Gate alerts, national authorities have taken 5,794 follow-up actions to ensure that dangerous products were removed from the EU and EEA markets”, the European Commission said.
The EU has been doubling toy on safety laws including putting in place a new Toy Safety Regulation which bans the use of harmful chemicals in toys.
The European Commission says the new law also gives national authorities “stronger powers” to detect and remove dangerous toys from the market.
But the consumer organisation, BEUC, said the high number of alerts highlighted what it called a “pressing need” to overhaul EU product surveillance especially in an era of online purchases of mainly Chinese-made products flooding the market.
“Toys that children can choke on, cosmetics causing rashes, or chargers catching fire keep entering Europe, often through Chinese online marketplaces, leaving no responsible person in the supply chain in practice”, said Agustín Reyna, Director General of BEUC.
“To really protect consumers, marketplaces must be held accountable and ultimately become liable if no one else ensures consumer safety, and the EU should take fast- tracked action on risks affecting consumers across the Union.”