Product Safety

Many people are injured each year due to faulty consumer goods. Product Safety involves ensuring all goods on sale to the public are safe for their intended use. The responsibility to supply safe consumer goods applies all the way down from the manufacturer to the retailer. This means that products being sold should comply with any relevant legislation. 

Legal requirements are the same whether you supply goods from a premises, home, a stall, or via online platforms.

Local councils have enforcement responsibilities for safety related issues with Consumer Goods. The Council helps protect consumers against unsafe goods. 

The Council's Environmental Health team will:

• Respond to consumer complaints.
• Carry out programmed inspections of premises to ensure goods on sale are safe.
• Provide advice to suppliers about legislation.
• Sample consumer goods to ensure they meet required standards of safety

Consumer Protection Team

Consumer Protection involves ensuring goods on sale to the public are safe for their intended use. The responsibility to supply safe consumer goods applies from the manufacturer down to the retailer. This means, that products being sold should comply with any relevant legislation.

Legal requirements are the same whether you supply goods from a premises, home, a stall or via online platforms.

If you make, import, distribute or sell consumer products in the UK, you are responsible for making sure they are safe for consumers to use and you follow the legal requirements in relation to labelling.

The General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (GPSR) require all products to be safe in their normal or reasonably foreseeable usage and enforcement authorities have powers to take appropriate action when this obligation isn’t met.

There are also specific regulations for some product sectors, setting out essential safety requirements. Where there’s crossover with the GPSR, the product-specific legislation usually takes precedence.

Regulation aims to ensure an adequate degree of protection for consumers, workers and the environment, while supporting prosperity and economic growth by promoting fair competition.

Support for businesses under regulated entities helps the business to grow, create new jobs, while allowing for expansion to new markets and trade possibilities.

Contact the consumer protection team using the contact bar below.

General Information

Sector specific guidance on a range of products can be found at the Government's Product Safety for Businesses A-Z of Industry Guidance page.

You can also look at the Government's Product Safety Advice for Business, or the Business Companion's Product Safety page, as well as NI Business Info's Product Safety Law information.

Guidance on the regulation of e-cigarettes can be found at the Government's E-cigarettes regulations page.

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the competent authority for the notification scheme for e-cigarettes and refill containers in the UK. Read more about the licensing procedure for electronic cigarettes as medicines.

For General Consumer queries visit the Consumer Council website.