The UK Office for Product Safety and Standards has just published 2 important product safety reports.

First a report on some experimental research into product recall effectiveness. This work is especially important because there is a real lack of data on this aspect, as highlighted by the sources cited in the report’s “Literature Review”, which are mostly at least 10 years old. Key findings are (i) the word “voluntary” should not be used in recall notices; and (ii) recall notices should bullet point steps consumers need to take.

The second report covers research on consumer attitudes to product safety. It reveals that consumers have a high level of trust in existing product safety systems. Whilst they place strong reliance on government to ensure products available to them are safe, by far their most trusted source of safety information is from product manufacturers.

These reports give interesting new insights into these important aspects of product safety. 

The report on product recall effectiveness is available here

The report on consumer attitudes to product safety is available here.

Stay tuned for further analysis

Posted by Jamie Humphreys

Jamie Humphreys is a litigation and regulatory lawyer. He is a strategic advisor to clients who face critical threats to their business at all stages of the product life-cycle, working with them to ensure the most favourable outcome and manage any reputational impact. He also provides policy advice to clients on proposed legislation and regulations that may introduce profound changes to their business. He has acted on high profile litigation across a range of different industries, internal investigations into allegations of fraud by global products manufacturers, major corruption investigations for Governments, and B2B product liability disputes, international recalls and consumer claims for well-known global brands. He is passionate about the impact that new technologies such as 3D printing, AI and Internet of Things will have in the products space and works with clients to ensure they prosper within a dynamic regulatory environment.

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