Responsibility for product safety
Economic operators are responsible for ensuring the safety of general consumer goods and making sure that their products include all necessary instructions and warnings.
In the Consumer Safety Act, economic operator refers to a party that:
- manufactures,
- imports,
- exports,
- transits through Finland,
- markets,
- supplies,
- sells or otherwise provides
- consumer goods or acts as an intermediary in the provision of consumer goods.
The Consumer Safety Act also applies to goods given out for free or as giveaways, and to non-profit organisations and brokers or agents.
An economic operator can be a person or a private or public legal entity, such as a company, corporation or municipality.
However, the obligations of the Consumer Safety Act do not apply to natural persons who deliver goods or provide services in the course of an activity other than commercial activity. This refers to people who sell their own used products at a flea market, for example.
Responsibilities according to roles
| Obligation | Manufacturer | Authorised representative/agent | Importer | Distributor/seller |
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| Must be aware of requirements that apply to the product, including special legislation. |
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| Must ensure that the product will not pose a danger to anyone’s health or property. |
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| Must know and assess risks related to the product and its foreseeable use. |
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| Must ensure that the product comes with instructions, warnings and information that are necessary for safe use of the product, in Finnish and Swedish or commonly recognised symbols. |
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| Must ensure that the information provided about the product, marketing methods, marketing materials or images do not mislead consumers and lead them to use the product in a dangerous manner. |
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| Must ensure that the product is not sold or displayed in a context that could mislead consumers with regard to the intended use of the product. E.g. a storm lantern among decorative items or a decorative item displayed with toys. | - | - | - |
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| Must state its name, registered trade name or registered trademark in connection with the product. It is only necessary to state the name of one operator. |
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| Must indicate the name of the product in accordance with commercial practice, if it is not clearly visible without opening the package. |
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| If there is reason to suspect that the product might cause a hazard, takes action to prevent damage. |
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| If the party suspects that the product could pose a danger, it notifies Tukes and cooperates with authorities. Using precise identifying information, such as type, batch or serial number, allows any product faults or safety defects to be narrowed down to a specific batch. |
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General duty of care
The general duty of care means that the economic operator must:
- ensure that the product will not pose a danger to anyone’s health or property;
- have sufficient and accurate information about the product and assess any risks related to the product;
- ensure that each product is accompanied by all necessary information, warnings and instructions; and
- notify supervisory authorities at its own initiative, if it comes to the operator’s knowledge that a product has caused danger.
