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The goal of the UNE's MSO is to enhance public-private cooperation in the area of market surveillance and to prevent the marketing of unsafe products and services that harm the economy and consumers and create unfair competition.
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During 2022, a total of 534,248 items were submitted for inspection, of which, 96% were approved in the following product groups: consumer textiles (239,866), consumer footwear (165,755), toys (55,031), furniture (49,137), small electrical material (18,825) and wood for use in construction (5,634).
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According to data from the Directorate-General for Consumer Affairs, 84.31% of the 41,170 tests carried out on samples of food and industrial products in 2022 complied with the applicable regulations. For non-compliant products, the most common defects are labelling, safety and quality.
Madrid, 13 February 2024 - for a third consecutive year the Market Surveillance Observatory (MSO) of the Spanish Association for Standardization, UNE, has published its market surveillance annual report in an effort to enhance public-private cooperation in this area and promote compliance with technical standards and regulations. The goal is to raise awareness about the marketing of unsafe products and services that cause confusion, harm the economy, companies and consumers and generate unfair competition and market distortion.
The 2023 market surveillance annual report includes data on the actions performed in 2022. It was prepared in collaboration with more than 40 Spanish business organisations, the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and various Authorities tasked with supervising the market.
According to Alfredo Berges, the Director General of both UNE and the Market Surveillance Observatory: “The achievements of market surveillance in recent years have improved the safety of the products that are available to consumers and increased the competitiveness of Spanish companies abroad. The role of UNE member business organisations is key in this surveillance, as every year they implement actions to detect products that breach the applicable legislation, support Public Administration inspections and lead the development of standards.”
During 2022, a total of 534,248 items were submitted for inspection, of which, 96% were approved in the following product groups: consumer textiles (239,866), consumer footwear (165,755), toys (55,031), furniture (49,137), small electrical-PME material (18,825) and wood for use in construction (5,634). According to data from the SOIVRE Inspection Office, the main reasons for non-compliance were the lack of technical documentation to guarantee the safety of products, followed by non-compliance with the labelling and marking of products, and due to construction defects that cause non-compliance with the essential product requirements.
In addition, according to data from the Directorate-General for Consumer Affairs, in 2022, the Quality Control and Research Centre carried out 41,170 tests on samples of food and industrial products from national and regional market surveillance campaigns (58 in total), EU campaigns and other official inspections, and concluded that 84.31% complied with applicable regulations. The most frequent defects identified for both product categories were labelling and presentation, safety aspects and quality factors.
As for the Non-Food Consumer Product Alert Network system, in 2022 it managed 2,865 notifications, 713 of which were generated by Autonomous Communities, while 2,152 were received from the EU. Madrid was the Autonomous Community with the most notifications (175), followed by Catalonia (126), Galicia (111), Andalusia (79) and the Balearic Islands (62). The majority came from Asia (almost 61%).
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This third edition of the report includes new content relating to three topics: the application of Regulation (EU) 2023/988 of the European Parliament and of the Council (GPSR), which aims to guarantee the health and safety of consumers, with a particular focus on products marketed online, and the proper functioning of the internal market; the mutual recognition of goods legally marketed in another Member State, with the application of Regulation (EU) 2019/515, which aims to eliminate unjustified trade barriers; and the adoption of inspection measures on imports of electrical and electronic devices, as well as batteries and cells from third countries, as these products generally include parts and components that become hazardous waste at the end of their life cycle, posing risks for both the environment and human safety.
Another issue addressed is market surveillance of energy labelling. Energy labels allow consumers to add environmental criteria to their purchasing processes. They have also encouraged manufacturers to develop more efficient and innovative products.
The 2023 Market Surveillance Annual Report covers economic sectors divided into three main areas: products for children, leisure products, industrial household consumer products and industrial products for professional use.
The Market Surveillance Observatory was created in the wake of the new European Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 on Market Surveillance and Compliance of Products to strengthen public-private cooperation and raise awareness of the importance of complying with standards and regulations. Compliance with technical standards is essential for adequate protection of consumer health and safety and the environment and to ensure the proper functioning of internal market and business and industrial activity.
