Safety Warnings and Information - Retailer Guidance

This document is intended to act as guidance only to assist you in meeting your compliance obligations. This document does not consist of any legal advice, and we strongly advise you to seek independent legal advice for further information on this topic. Fruugo.com Ltd is not responsible for checking or verifying the correctness, accuracy, or completeness of any safety warnings or labelling provided by a retailer. As a retailer it is your sole responsibility to ensure that the information provided is true, correct and uploaded to the Fruugo platform for display on the product page, as well as being present on the product itself, its packaging or accompanying documentation.

Safety Warnings and Labels

Safety warnings and labels are extremely important pieces of information for consumers as they warn a user of any risks associated with the product, or provide instructions on safe use of the product, and what actions should be taken to ensure safe use or disposal of the product.

It is a mandatory requirement for manufacturers to ensure that all products, the packaging or accompanying documentation must be physically labelled with clear instructions and safety information in a language that can be understood by the consumer, unless the product can be used safely and as intended without this information. As a retailer, and economic operator, it is your responsibility to ensure that this information is affixed to the product, packaging or accompanying documentation, and in a language easily understood by the consumer in the country that you are shipping to.

You MUST NOT sell or make available any products on Fruugo if they do not comply with all requirements under the General Product Safety Regulations, or harmonised legislation/standards applicable to the products sold by you on Fruugo.

In addition, under the GPSR it is now a mandatory requirement to display the warning and safety information on the product page in the language of the country of sale for each product.

How to upload this information to your product display page -

User Guides

If you wish to upload a user guide, or pictogram warning labels, we advise you to upload this to the final image of your product. You must NOT upload this information as the first image or your product will be removed from Fruugo until this is amended.

Any user guides, or information provided in the images, cannot be used as a substitution or alternative for the information which must be provided in the text safety information fields. You must also ensure that all Safety Information is provided in the text field for consumers ,or an attestation is completed, otherwise your product may not be displayed in the EU.

Fruugo is currently in the process of developing an upload function for PDF documents including user guides. We will update all retailers in due course once this function is available.

Customers Language

As per the GPSR, all safety warnings and labels must be displayed in the customers language on the product page. For any safety warnings displayed as text in the Safety Information field will automatically be translated by Fruugo on the product page, and the original text will be available for the consumer to view.

If you opt to upload a user guide, or safety warnings via your product images, it is your responsibility as a retailer to ensure that the information is presented in a language that the consumer will easily understand in the country that you are making the product available for sale.

Fruugo is not responsible for any mistranslations or misinterpretation of the translated information. As a retailer it is your responsibility to ensure that the information displayed on the product page is true and accurate.

CE Marking

A CE mark demonstrates to the customer that the product has been assessed by the manufacturer and meets the legislative requirements. A CE mark is obligatory for some product categories. Please ensure that you indicate if  CE mark is present on your product via the CSV upload.

Please view the following webpage issued by the European Commission which outlines all products requiring a CE Mark.

https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/single-market/ce-marking/manufacturers_en

EU Resources

The governing regulation and/or standards may provide specific information on the warning labels which must be present on a product.

The following link offers information on the harmonised legislation and standards that may apply to products sold on Fruugo.

Access2Markets Welcome home page

Action taken by Fruugo

Failure to comply with the GPSR or falsification of any safety warnings or labelling will result in your product being blocked from publication on the platform until this information is provided or amended accordingly. Your account will also be escalated for disciplinary action to be determined by Fruugo.  

Example Safety Warnings or Labels

Toys

The EU Toy Safety Directive sets out mandatory warning labels which must be present on a product depending on the type of toy, and any associated risks. The safety warnings required by the Toy Safety Directive must be displayed on either the toy itself, the packaging and accompanied with instructions for use in the customers language.

As a retailer, and economic operator, it is your responsibility to ensure that this information is affixed to the product, packaging or accompanying documentation, and in a language easily understood by the consumer in the country that you are shipping to. You must take all necessary steps to ensure that the relevant safety warnings are present on the product before you place the product on the market. You must not list any products which do not comply with the Toy Safety Directive.

Article 11(1) of the Toy Safety Directive states the following in respect of Safety Warnings -

“Where appropriate for safe use, warnings made for the purposes of Article 10(2) shall specify appropriate user limitations in accordance with Part A of Annex V.

As regards the categories of toy listed in Part B of Annex V, the warnings set out therein shall be used. The warnings set out in points 2 to 10 of Part B of Annex V shall be used as worded therein.

Toys shall not bear one or more of the specific warnings set out in Part B of Annex V where that warning conflicts with the intended use of the toy, as determined by virtue of its function, dimension and characteristics.”

The below list outlines the Safety Warnings stipulated in Annex V Part A and B.

Annex V - Part A - General Warnings and User Limitations

The user limitations referred to in Article 11(1) shall include at least the following -

●       The minimum or maximum age of the user,

●       The abilities of the user (where appropriate),

●       The maximum or minimum weight of user

●       The need to ensure that the toy is used only under adult supervision

Annex V - Part B - Specific Warnings

1. Toys not intended for use by children under 36 months

• Warning: Not suitable for children under 36 months.

OR

• Warning: Not suitable for children under three years.

OR

• Graphic Warning:

Open

The warning is to be accompanied by a brief indication of the specific hazard associated with the product.

2. Activity Toys

• Warning: Only for domestic use.

3. Functional Toys

• Warning: To be used under the direct supervision of an adult.

4. Chemical Toys

• Warning: Not suitable for children under (*) years old. For use under adult supervision.

(*) - Age to be stipulated by the manufacturer.

5. Skates, roller stakes, online skates, skateboards, scooters and toy bicycles for children.

• Warning: Protective equipment should be worn. Not to be used in traffic.

6. Aquatic toys

• Warning: Only to be used in water in which the child is within its depth and under adult supervision.

7. Toys in food

• Warning: Toy inside. Adult supervision recommended.

8. Imitations of protective masks and helmets

• Warning: This toy does not provide protection.

9. Toys intended to be strung across a cradle, cot, or perambulator by means of strings, cords, elastics or straps

• Warning: To prevent possible injury by entanglement, remove this toy when the child starts trying to get up on its hands and knees in a crawling position.

10. Packaging for fragrances in olfactory board games, cosmetic kits, and gustative games

• Warning: Contains fragrances that may cause allergies.

Energy Labels

If your product is governed by Regulation (EU) 2017/1369  on energy labelling, you must ensure that you display the energy label in the final image on the product display page for each individual product.  

Ingredients

If your products fall within the category of cosmetics, or food supplements, you will be required to provide the list of ingredients present in the product and display this information on the product display page.

Chemical Warnings

Chemical warnings take the form of pictograms, and are to alert users of the presence of a hazardous substance that may cause harm.

The following subset of examples show warning labels in the pictogram format. This list is non-exhaustive.

Flammable:

Open

Corrosive:

Health Effects:

Uploading safety warnings to the product display page:

As a retailer, and pursuant to your role as an economic operator, it is your responsibility to ensure that this information is affixed to the product, packaging or accompanying documentation, and in a language easily understood by the consumer in the country that you are shipping to. You must take all necessary steps to ensure that the relevant safety warnings are present on the product before you place the product on the market.