OECD Consumer Product Safety Working PartyChallenges, Opportunities and Developments

Ruth MackayGeneral Manager, Product Safety – ACCC

Chair – OECD Working Party onConsumer Product Safety

TOY IMPORT AND RECALL LEVELS: IS THERE A CONNECTION?By Hari Bapuji, Asper School of Business, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 5V4, CANADA

This paper analyzes US toy imports and toy recalls between 1992 and2006. We found that toy recalls have increased at a faster rate than theincrease in imports from foreign countries. Also, design-related recallswere higher, and increased faster, than manufacturing-related recalls.Interestingly, these trends were less pronounced for Chinese-made toysthan those made in other countries. We discuss the implications of thesethree trends and suggest potential remedies.

Then

Supply Chain

MaterialSupplier

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MaterialSupplier

Manufacturer

Distributor

Retailer

Today

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Materials Materials Materials Materials Materials

Components Components Components Components

Subcontractor Subcontractor Subcontractor

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From China to Panama, a Trail of Poisoned Medicine By WALT BOGDANICH and JAKE HOOKER PUBLISHED: MAY 6, 2007

The kidneys fail first. Then the central nervous system begins to misfire. Paralysis spreads, making breathing difficult, then often impossible without assistance. In the end, most victims die.

Many of them are children, poisoned at the hands of their unsuspecting parents.

The syrupy poison, diethylene glycol, is an indispensable part of the modern world, an industrial solvent and prime ingredient in some antifreeze.

IN CHINA At least 18 people, most of them in Guangdong Province, died in a month in 2006 after they ingested contaminated medicine.

November 07, 2007 12:21am

A 19-month-old boy was in a Queensland hospital after ingesting a toy that was yesterday banned interstate.

Bindeez have been found to contain a chemical that converts into the toxic illegal drug GHB, also known as fantasy, when ingested.

Recalled ... Bindeez toys contain a chemical which can be metabolised into

GHB.

Toy recalled over drug fears

Online sales to top $37 billion says new reportPublished on Photo and Imaging News 18 Oct 2011- http://www.photoimagingnews.com.au/news/online-sales-to-top-37-billion-says-new-report

The value of online shopping in Australia will grow to more than $37 billion over the next two years, according to a new report from online payment provider PayPal.

“With 97% of Australian internet users now having shopped online, Australian retailers have woken up to the online opportunity and plan to invest heavily in their online strategies over the next year,” the report said.“

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OECD Identified Challenges

• Inconsistency in product safety sanctions and remedies in different countries.

• Inconsistency of product standards in different countries.

• Sustained pressure on the resources of product safety regulators as the diversity of manufactured products continues to increase.

• Regulatory complexity in individual countries, which leads to increased business compliance costs, and complexity in enforcement.

• A need for greater co-ordination in enforcement activities; and

• Inconsistency in business obligations internationally.

High Level Goals / Motivations

• Effective consumer protection.• Greater awareness in terms of

emerging risks and current issues.

• Enhanced capacity to address issues effectively in both pre-market and post-market contexts.

• Increased international process and product standardisation.

Consumer Product Safety Working Party

Working Party Strengths

• Strengths include:– A forum for

regulators– Participation not

limited to OECD– Focus on

engagement with other bodies

– Linkages with ICPSC

– Possibility of pooling funds

– Secretariat support

Working Party Mandate

• Promote the exchange of information on product safety within and between economies

• Support research on product safety issues• Promoting the development of systematic methods for monitoring

and assessing developments in consumer product safety, including developments in policy and enforcement

• Promoting co-operation between Members and non Members on product safety issues of mutual interest

• Promoting harmonisation of product safety requirements and information collection

Working Party Mandate Continued

• Carry out work in light of OECD Report on Enhancing Information Sharing on Consumer Product Safety

• WP should collaborate and co-operate with other international bodies that are carrying out related work on product safety, such as the ICPSC, OAS and APEC should also be actively pursued with key non-members.

Information Sharing Objectives

1. Identify safety issues at an early point

2. Address safety concerns in a consistent way

3. Share practices and policy law developments so that we might more efficiently and effectively manage our own product safety functions and work effectively together.

Identify safety issues at an early point

• Pool information on recalls and emergency alerts on a single website

• Flag emerging issues• Reach agreement on format

for injury data collection• Pool information on product

hazards on a web based platform

Address safety concerns in a consistent way

• Promote harmonisation of standards

• Provide web access to studies of hazards

• Establish restricted web directory of safety experts

• Enhance International co-operation on traceability

Sharing information on practices and policy developments, so that responses to emerging issues can be dealt with more efficiently and

effectively

• Develop mechanisms to co-ordinate international product safety initiatives more effectively

• Increase understanding of domestic differences

• Provide web access to updates on regulatory activities

• Develop confidentiality protocol for sharing research information

A Global Recalls Data Pool

Web Based Information Exchange

Collaboration

Tracking and Traceability

Risk Assessment

www.accc.gov.au