Firms face product safety crackdown

Environmental health and trading standards officers will have the power to force tool and plant manufacturers and distributors to withdraw products from the UK market in the event of a safety-related problem being discovered.
The New General Product Safety Legislation is being introduced to deal with manufacturers that are slow in acting, or don't recall products if a safety-related problem is found.
Local councils will enforce the rules, putting powers, including the right to issue suspension notices, in the hands of trading standards and environmental health officers.
If a notice is issued, the manufacturer/distributor has to rectify the problem before the product can be placed back on the market and must also trace existing owners and carry out the required modifications or repairs.
Although the rules exclude products for professional use, items such as industrial hand tools, floor sanders, shredders and access platforms can be hired by members of the public and will therefore be considered in-scope.
To comply with the rules, manufacturers, distributors and hire companies will have to keep records of purchasers and hirers of the machines so that they can be contacted in the event of a recall.
Most businesses have some form of records from their sales invoicing system, but these could be considered inadequate by the enforcement authorities.