39 Taiwan Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association from: • carrying out an internal risk analysis prior to placing the product on the market; • specific instruction and identification requirements; • constant product monitoring duties; • up to the obligation to take, in a timely fashion, corrective measures such as a product recall. The Commission provides a communication channel through its Safety Business Gateway and the publication of any incidents, which is fully accessible to consumers on its Safety Gate Portal (see https://ec.europa.eu/safety-gate-alerts/screen/webReport ). Article 10 of the GPSR defines the role, tasks and duties of authorized representatives, while Article 11 creates a set of extended obligations for importers. In addition, Article 12 stipulates the obligations of distributors such as retailers, who are e.g., required to immediately inform the manufacturer or importer of a certain product if they have reason to believe that it constitutes a dangerous health risk to consumers. All economic operators in the supply chain must fully cooperate with EU market surveillance authorities in the event of product safety-related incidents. In this context, it will become imperative to be well-documented. How does the EU's new GPSR define “health” and “safety,” and why does this matter? The EU legislators have adopted the very broad WHO definition of health, which is defined as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” This terminology triggers a much broader liability of economic operators than is the case right now. When it comes to the assessment of whether a certain product is “safe” or not, the EU GPSR regulation again interprets “safety” in the broadest possible manner. What is emphasized is that all relevant aspects of a product need to be taken into consideration, which means: • the materials it is composed of; • its product features; • how the respective product is presented, and for which kind of consumers it is primarily geared for (in particular if it is intended to be used by children, older or disabled persons).
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