Conformity Assessment
Conformity assessment is the process that a manufacturer must follow to in order to have evidence that his product complies with all applicable EU legislation. The process applies to all products, both products that must be CE-marked and products where it is illegal to affix the CE mark.
CE Marking
‘CE marking’ is the process whereby a manufacturer verifies and documents that a product has been designed to be safe and manufactured consistently to this safe specification.
Declaration of Conformity (DoC)
The EU Declaration of Conformity is mandatory for all CE marked products.
EU consumer protection
The product safety framework is about ensuring that consumers are not exposed to unsafe products and services.
EU market surveillance
Market surveillance is defined as the activities carried out and measures taken by market surveillance authorities to ensure that products comply with the requirements set out in the applicable EU legislation.
EU Safety Gate: The EU rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products
Safety Gate is the rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products and is managed by the European Commission to facilitate a quick circulation of information about measures taken against non-food dangerous products in the EU.
Product Safety Checklist
This factsheet has been produced to assist all those in the chain of distribution satisfy themselves that all the key elements of the EU’s product safety system have been put in place.
Recall procedures
A recall is any measure aimed at achieving the return of a dangerous product that is already in the hands of consumers or other end users.
Risk management
The term ‘risk management’ is used in many different contexts, and always encompasses the same process: identification of risk followed by actions to appropriately mitigate identified risks linked to a product.
Selling online
‘Online selling’ refers to products being sold in distance sales, such as through a website of a trader (e-shop), via an online marketplace or app.
Technical documentation
The technical documentation for a product is the compilation of documents that the manufacturer must collate to provide evidence that the conformity assessment process has been carried out, and that the product is safe and complies with all relevant EU legislation.
Testing
Testing is one of the activities in the conformity assessment process. It takes place between the design risk management (pre-market risk assessment) and the compilation of the technical file.
Using a third party
Some of the EU legislation requires that a third party is involved in (parts of) the conformity assessment process.
