BRUSSELS (AFP)--The European Commission isn't satisfied with
China's record on dealing with consumer product safety, a
commissioner said Monday, announcing record levels of dangerous
goods.
The comment came as the European Union's executive arm released
new figures on dangerous goods, showing that a record number were
found throughout the E.U. last year, with more than half coming
from China, in particular hazardous toys.
The commission's rapid alert system for nonfood goods, RAPEX,
said 1,866 unsafe products were brought to its attention in 2008, a
16% increase on the previous year.
Products from China accounted for 59% of the goods reported,
substantially up from 52% in 2007 and 49% in 2006.
In only half of the Chinese cases which came to light,
preventive or restrictive measures were carried out to deal with
the problem.
One of the biggest problems was identifying the Chinese
companies involved.
"This is not good enough as we stated in 2007," said E.U.
Consumer Affairs Commissioner Maglena Kuneva, who said the level of
action was much better than in previous years.
"It is an improvement (but) no I am not satisfied, and I am
working with Chinese authorities " to remedy the problems, she told
reporters in Brussels.
"We shouldn't take this as a signal to close our markets. We
need good, non-dangerous products from China, but not at the
expense of safety."
Toys made up almost a third of the dangerous products recalled
worldwide.
The flood of Chinese-made toys has been a growing concern in
recent years, with U.S. company Mattel Inc. (MAT) recalling more
than 21 million such items in 2007 alone.
The next largest sectors for recalls were electrical appliances,
which made up 11% of the total cases, motor vehicles (10%) and
clothing (9%).