RAPEX%20SYSTEM%20IN%20THE%20EU

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RAPEX SYSTEM IN THE EU

• Dirk H. Meijer
• Chief public health officer non food
• Inspectorate for Health Protection and Veterinary
  Public Health
• Netherlands Food and Product Safety Authority
• Chairman of PROSAFE

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CONTENTS

• Introduction
• Inspectorate for Health Protection and Veterinary
  Public Health
• International Networks
• Prosafe
• ICPHSO
• RAPEX
• What is RAPEX en how does it work
• Risk-assessment procedures
• Information systems
• Relation with other notification systems
• Conclusions

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INTRODUCTION

• Inspectorate for Health Protection and Veterinary
  Public Health
• Enforcement body in the Netherlands for Food,
  Non-Food and Veterinary Affairs.
• About 900 people
• Two main tasks
• Enforcement
• Research and Reporting
• International networks on product safety
• PROSAFE (www.prosafe.org (under revision)
• Product Safety Forum Europe
• ICPHSO (www.icphso.org)
• International Consumer Product Health and Safety
  Organisation

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THE RAPEX SYSTEM (1)

• Based on the General Product Safety Directive
  (GPSD) 2001/95/EC
• Articles 7 and 8
• 7 notification without urgent measures
• 8 notification with urgent measures
• At this moment wide variation of notifications
• (0 22 per country per year)
• Many notifications on products from the far East
  and of unknown origin

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THE RAPEX SYSTEM (2)

• At this moment there is no system for assessment
  of risks
• System is being set up as this moment by the EC
• Exchange of information is very important
• The ICSMS-system is being built at this moment
• www.icsms.org
• Next to the RAPEX system there are notification
  systems related to the directives on the new and
  global approach (LVD, Machinery, etc.)

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CONCLUSIONS

• Due to several uncertainies the RAPEX system is
  not yet used as effectively as could be
• Effective use needs clear decission making tools
  to judge risks
• A well defined information network is needed
• A well functioning informal network (e.g. ex Art.
  10 GPSD, or PROAFE/ICPHSO) is needed.
• Thus.....

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STATEMENTS

• 1. Since consumer (non-food) products are being
  traded globally, product safety needs global
  market surveillance, at least global coordination
  of surveillance.
•  
• 2. Global coordinated market surveillance will
  only be succesfull when information between
  enforcement authorities is shared, which will
  need a well functioning information exchange
  system and a informal network (like ICPHSO and
  PROSAFE) in which people of the organisations can
  meet en discuss with each other.