Background

On May 23, 2023, the European Union (EU) published the new Regulation (EU) 2023/988 on General Product Safety (GPSR) in the Official Journal of the European Union, repealing the current General Product Safety Directive 87/357/EEC and the Food Imitating Product Directive 2001/95/EC.

The GPSR modernises the EU general product safety framework and addresses the new challenges posed to product safety by the digitalisation of economies, aiming to strengthen the protection of consumers while enhancing the functioning of the EU internal market. From December 13, 2024, it shall be fully enforced in all EU Member States.

What’s new?

As announced in our previous article, one of the changes under GPSR included specific rules on how to handle product safety recalls, including a mandatory recall notice template, and right to remedy for consumers.

On May 27 2024, the European Commission published the Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1435, establishing a template for a recall notice. On July 23, 2024, the European Commission published a corrigendum adding an additional “whereas” and adapting the recall model accordingly.

This initiative introduces a standardized recall notice template, detailing all the required information. The template aims to simplify the process for businesses issuing recall notices and helps consumers easily recognize and understand important details about product recalls.

You can access the notification template included in the Annex here.

This regulation will be effective from December 13, 2024, aligning with the GPSR.

References:

European Commission – Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1435