EU General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR)

Comprehensive EU framework ensuring consumer products are safe before and after market placement.

Replacing the General Product Safety Directive after two decades, the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) became applicable on 13 December 2024, establishing a modernised and directly applicable framework for ensuring the safety of consumer products placed on the EU market. The regulation addresses gaps exposed by the growth of e-commerce, online marketplaces, and new technologies, ensuring that products sold to European consumers meet consistent safety requirements regardless of whether they are purchased in a physical store or from an online seller established outside the EU.

GPSR applies to all economic operators placing consumer products on the EU market, including manufacturers, importers, distributors, fulfilment service providers, and online marketplaces. The regulation casts a particularly wide net by requiring online marketplaces to take specific measures to prevent the sale of unsafe products, including establishing internal processes for product safety, cooperating with market surveillance authorities, and informing consumers when unsafe products are identified. Products that are already covered by specific harmonised EU legislation, such as the Machinery Regulation or medical device regulations, are subject to GPSR only for safety aspects not covered by the sectoral rules.

Manufacturers must ensure their products meet the general safety requirement, meaning they must not present any risk or only acceptable minimum risks to consumers under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use. They must carry out internal risk analyses, maintain technical documentation, and ensure traceability through the supply chain. Products must bear the manufacturer's and, where applicable, the importer's contact information. The regulation introduces new requirements for product recalls, including direct notification of affected consumers where possible, and strengthens the Safety Gate rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products.

Enforcement has been significantly enhanced under GPSR. Market surveillance authorities gain expanded powers to order product recalls, destroy unsafe products, and impose penalties. The regulation also improves coordination between national authorities and customs officials to intercept unsafe products at EU borders. Online marketplaces must comply within short deadlines when notified of unsafe products and face obligations to act proactively rather than waiting for complaints.

GPSR interacts with the EU CE Marking framework and the EU Machinery Regulation, together forming a layered system of product safety rules. Where CE marking legislation applies, GPSR provides a safety net for any risks not specifically addressed. For businesses selling consumer products in Europe, GPSR compliance requires attention to product design, traceability, online sales channels, and responsiveness to recall obligations in a regulatory environment that increasingly holds all actors in the supply chain accountable for product safety.

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