General regulations: law on the safety of products and services

To protect consumer safety, general regulations always stipulate that only safe products and services can be placed on the market.

The law of 9 February 1994 on the safety of products and services defines the general safety requirements that products and services must meet.

This means that when you put a product or service on the market, it cannot pose any risk under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use. The producer and/or distributor are/is responsible for the consequences of any faults in the product or service

Laws and regulations

Producers' obligations

Distributors' obligations

Market surveillance

Laws and regulations

The law of 9 February 1994

on the safety of products and services transposes the European Directive 2001/95/EC of 3 December 2001 on general product safety.

This law sets out all requirements for all general safety aspects. It is a general law regarding the safety of products and services. More specific regulations supplement these general safety requirements for certain product groups. Certain products may be covered by several different regulations and must therefore meet all requirements of these different regulations.

For each of these products or services, you will find below a link to the specific regulations on this website.

Products that do not fall within the scope of these regulations:

• foodstuffs;
• animal feed;
• pharmaceutical products;
• chemical substances and preparations;
• biocides;
• phytopharmaceutical products;
• fertiliser

Producers’ obligations

The producer (manufacturer, manufacturer’s representative, importer etc.) must fulfil the following obligations:

• to only put on the market safe products and services;
• to inform the consumer about the risks of a product or service by affixing the necessary usage instructions and warnings;
• to indicate their name and contact information and the product reference number (or lot number to which it belongs) on their products or packaging;
• to take steps to stay up to date with the risks of the products and services supplied and to take action to prevent these risks;
• to immediately inform the central contact point if they know that a product or service they have placed on the market poses a risk to consumers;
• to cooperate with the authorities in taking action to prevent the risks associated with the products they provide.

You will find more information on these obligations in the document “Questions and answers - Law on the safety of products and services”. [not available in English]

As soon as they are aware that a product or service they have placed on the market poses a risk to consumers, the producer must notify the central contact point immediately. The EU document on the notification of dangerous consumer products provides further details.

The "Products Safety in Europe" guide to corrective actions” provides general advice on what to do when a product is unsafe. You can use this guide to take corrective actions.

Distributors’ obligations

The distributor also plays a part in complying with general safety obligations and must fulfil the following obligations:

• to only supply or offer on the market products and services that are safe;
• to inform the consumer about the risks of a product or service by affixing the necessary usage instructions and warnings, and maintaining the documentation;
• to cooperate with the authorities and producers to trace the origin of the products and to participate in measures taken to prevent the risks associated with the products they provide;
• to immediately inform the central contact point if they know that a product or service they have placed on the market poses a risk to consumers

You will find more information on these obligations in the document “Questions and answers - Law on the safety of products and services”. [not available in English]

Market surveillance

The FPS Economy oversees the continuous monitoring of the Belgian market and ensures that products and services placed on the market meet safety requirements. Targeted inspection campaigns are organised regularly to review the safety of a specific group of products by sampling.

You can read the final reports of the inspection campaigns conducted in recent years in the section ‘Publications’ below.

If we believe a product is unsafe, we take the necessary measures according to the situation. Administrative penalties (warnings, recall, sales ban, destruction etc.) and legal penalties (fines or a judgment) can be imposed.

Disputes and complaints

If you wish to submit a complaint, please contact the Directorate-General Control and Mediation of the FPS Economy.