Cosmetic safety notices and recalls- the Safety Gate system
The European Safety Gate is a system used by the European Community to quickly share information about harmful non-food products such as cosmetics, beauty products etc. The system was previously known as RAPEX.
Where to find the latest safety alerts for cosmetics?
The European Commission publishes a report with the latest alerts on its website every week. Anyone can subscribe to receive these weekly reports by email. The reports are available in any language of the EU/EEA countries.
How the Safety Gate system works to alert safety issues
Every day, national authorities monitor the safety of non-food products (e.g. make-up, skincare etc.) and will send alerts to the Safety Gate if they find any issues.
Each alert contains information about:
- The type of product considered to be dangerous.
- A description of the risk.
- Any steps that have been taken by the economic operator or ordered by the authority.
How do we use the Safety Gate system for cosmetics?
We review the Safety Gate notifications for cosmetic products to check if there are any on the Irish market that could pose a risk to Irish consumers. If a product is to be recalled from the Irish market, we will issue a product recall notice through the HPRA website and social media sources to distributers, retailers, and consumers.
All other national authorities need to follow-up on every alert and take their own steps if they find the same product on their national markets. If they find the same product on their national markets, they must report this to the Safety Gate too.