August 17, 2009

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Stockholm, Sweden 10th September 2009

By Bruce J. Farquhar

On September 10, 2009 consumer product safety regulators and market surveillance officials from around the world will gather with other stakeholders in Stockholm, Sweden for the first-ever global regulators conference focusing on a timely and specific product safety issue:  How might tracking/traceability label policies internationally be co-ordinated to the benefit of our domestic consumers? 

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Coordination on product traceability and tracking labels could prove to be extremely useful. Labeling locations, written language, manufacturer identification, batch coding, and a long list of other product traceability and tracking label elements all have international implications for products that are traded globally. To what extent should they also be tracked globally?  And by what means?

Some jurisdictions will put new tracking/traceability label requirements in place in the near future.  Whether the jurisdiction where we live and work will do so or not, there is little doubt that tracking label decisions made in major markets will have an impact far beyond their territories.  Interested stakeholders can play a role in the process by participating in the Stockholm conference.

The September 10 Conference will be hosted by the International Consumer Product Safety Caucus (ICPSC) at the Park Inn Hotel in Solna, Stockholm, Sweden. The Conference builds on the mini-workshop held in February in Orlando. As can be seen from the agenda, a thorough discussion of the topic is planned.  The ICPSC also want to ensure input from a broad spectrum of stakeholders. To this end, registered attendees will have an opportunity to make a short presentation to the assembled regulators. 

If anyone wishes to make a presentation to the assembled regulators during the open session in the afternoon (10 minutes maximum), the ICPSC urges interested parties to register their interest to do so now on the ICPSC web site www.icpsc.org.  Note that the ICPSC will distribute the limited presentation time among stakeholders based on the order of registration and a view toward variety of perspectives.  

An opportunity exists for all interested stockholders to contribute to an Australian recall. review. The results of the review will feed into the planned ICPSC workshop next year and may provide the basis for developing an international review paper on recall best practices. The first questionnaire has been designed to solicit basic information relating to recalls and recall effectiveness. There are two versions of the questionnaire. One for regulators and one for stakeholders. Follow the links atwww.icpsc.org/recall_effectiveness.html to complete the questionnaires.

In addition to the questionnaire the ICPSC would also very much like to receive any relevant documentation interested parties are able to send to them. This could include but is not limited to recall guides, reports of recalls, research reports etc. Please forward these to recalls@icpsc.org.

This information is being gathered as input to a review of recalls being carried out by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The results of the review being undertaken by the ACCC will feed into work being carried out by the international Consumer Product Safety Caucus (ICPSC). The ICPSC work will culminate in a workshop in Washington DC on the 15th of February 2010. Further information on this process can be obtained at www.icpsc.org. The ICPSC secretariat can be contacted at recalls@icpsc.org to answer queries about this questionnaire, the research project or the workshop. 

Bruce Farquhar is a consultant who specializes in consumer safety, regulation and standardization, consumer representation, conformity assessment and similar areas. He currently provides support to the European organisation PROSAFE and their market surveillance joint actions, most notably EMARS II, to the International Consumer Product Safety Caucus (ICPSC) and to ICPHSO. Contact him (Quebec, Canada) at (450) 538-0599, bruce@brucejfarquhar.net.