Safety Gate: what it is, how it works and what it means for your business

1How Safety Gate works step by step

The process normally begins when a national authority detects a dangerous product or receives enough information to consider that a risk exists.

From that point onwards, the process can be summarised in five stages.

1. 1

   The product is identified and the risk is assessed

   The authority analyses the product, the hazard detected and the severity of the risk. It may also request information from the manufacturer, the importer, the distributor, the responsible person or other operators involved in its marketing.

   The assessment may draw on tests, inspections, complaints, accidents, technical documentation or information from other countries.

2. 2

   Corrective measures are adopted

   Measures may be voluntary, where the company itself acts, or mandatory, where they are ordered by the competent authority.

   Depending on the case, they may include suspension of sales, a ban on marketing, withdrawal of the product from the supply chain, recall of units already delivered to consumers or the publication of warnings.

   Not all alerts produce exactly the same consequences. The measures depend on the product, the risk, the number of units affected, the countries where it has been sold and the actions the company has already taken.

3. 3

   The national authority submits the notification

   The authority enters into the system the relevant information about the product, the risk identified and the measures adopted or planned.

   Notifications concerning serious risks must be submitted in the cases established. Safety Gate may also be used to share measures relating to risks that do not reach that level of severity.

4. 4

   The European Commission reviews and distributes the alert

   The Commission checks the information and makes it available to the authorities of the other participating countries.

   The public alert usually includes data such as the product category, the brand, the model, photographs, the notifying country, the description of the risk and the measures adopted.

5. 5

   Other countries carry out follow-up actions

   The authorities of the other States check whether the product is also present in their physical or digital markets.

   When they find it, they may adopt additional measures and report those actions as follow-up to the initial alert. In this way, a problem detected in one country can trigger interventions in several European markets.

2Which products are covered by Safety Gate and which are excluded

Safety Gate is used for dangerous non-food products, both consumer products and products intended for professional use.

The categories that may appear in the system include:

• toys;
• cosmetics;
• clothing;
• electrical appliances and equipment;
• motor vehicles;
• childcare articles;
• protective equipment;
• tools;
• leisure and sports products.

The risks notified are also varied. They may be chemical, electrical, mechanical or thermal, as well as risks of fire, injuries, suffocation, strangulation or choking. In certain cases, alerts may relate to risks to the environment, security or other public interests.

Medicinal products, medical devices, food and feed fall outside the system, because they have their own sector-specific alert mechanisms.

This does not mean that all products included in Safety Gate are subject to the same obligations. The applicable framework depends on the product category, its intended use, the type of user, the design, the risks and the relevant sectoral legislation.

3What happens if a product appears in Safety Gate

The publication of an alert is not simply an entry in a database. It can have immediate operational consequences for the company responsible for the product.

Possible measures include:

• banning or suspending its marketing;
• withdrawing units from distributors, warehouses or points of sale;
• recalling products that are already in the hands of consumers;
• removing listings and offers on marketplaces;
• detaining goods or preventing their entry at the border;
• requesting the technical file, tests, risk assessments or traceability information;
• requiring communications to consumers or distributors.

There is also a reputational impact. Alerts are publicly accessible and can be consulted by consumers, platforms, distributors, professional customers and authorities in other countries.

Withdrawal and recall do not mean the same thing

A recall is usually more complex and costly because it requires identifying the consumers affected, communicating the risk and organising the return or corresponding solution.

4How to prevent and manage a dangerous product incident

Preventing a Safety Gate alert does not consist solely of having a technical file, test reports and labelling that appear to be in order. The technical documentation must correspond to the product actually manufactured and placed on the market and provide sufficient evidence that it meets the applicable safety requirements.

Among other aspects, test reports and, where appropriate, certificates or documentation relating to materials and components should support that the product does not contain dangerous or restricted substances above the permitted limits, that small parts do not become detached during foreseeable use, that button batteries or other hazardous elements are not accessible, and that the product provides the necessary stability and strength. Where applicable, they should also cover risks such as dangerous edges, entrapment, electric shock, overheating or fire.

In addition, any change to materials, components, suppliers, design or manufacturing processes must be reviewed to confirm that the documentation and tests remain representative of the final product. Traceability should make it possible to identify batches, suppliers, distributors and destination markets, while complaints, returns or accidents should be analysed to detect potential problems before they lead to market surveillance action.

What to do when a possible risk is detected

If a company suspects that a product may be dangerous, it must act quickly and in an orderly manner.

The basic steps are:

1. 1

   Stop or limit sales if necessary.

2. 2

   Identify which products are affected (batches, countries, distributors, etc.).

3. 3

   Analyse the risk with real data.

4. 4

   Decide what to do with the product (repair, replace, withdraw or inform).

5. 5

   Notify the authorities where applicable through Safety Business Gateway.

6. 6

   Inform distributors, platforms and customers.

7. 7

   Keep all the documentation of the process.

The most important thing is to act quickly, but also consistently. Incomplete or poorly coordinated information can make managing the problem much more difficult.

Where the GPSR applies, the product must have a responsible economic operator established in the EU; the responsible person and the authorised representative are not necessarily the same figure, as we explain in this article on the differences between the responsible person and the authorised representative.

5What the 2025 Safety Gate figures show

The European Commission's 2025 Safety Gate report recorded 4,671 alerts and 5,794 follow-up actions. This is the highest number of alerts recorded up to that point.

These figures do not automatically equate to 4,671 products withdrawn. An alert may affect different models, batches or units, and the follow-up actions reflect the measures adopted by other countries after receiving the initial notification.

By product category:

• cosmetics accounted for 36% of alerts;
• toys, 16%;
• electrical appliances and equipment, 11%.

As regards the risks identified:

• chemical risk appeared in 53% of alerts;
• injuries, in 14%;
• choking, in 9%.

The data show that Safety Gate is not limited to a specific category or to products subject to CE marking. They also reflect the system's capacity to generate subsequent actions in other countries once a product has been identified as dangerous.

6Frequently asked questions about Safety Gate and RAPEX