CAUTIONARY TALE FOR RETAILERS SUMMER 2015 RETAIL Dont assume somebody further up the supply chain will be responsible if you sell unsafe imported products RETAIL Sandwell Trading Standards is currently taking the relatively unusual step of prosecuting a retailer for the sale of an unsafe toy originating from China. The toy contained high levels of a banned chemical and posed a serious health risk to children. In normal circumstances, when an unsafe item is sold wewould identify the business responsible for putting the toyon sale in the UK and take enforcement action against that business. However, identifying that company or indeed anyone responsible in the UK supply chain other than the retailer has not proved possible in this instance and responsibility now rests solely with the retailer. This situation has arisen because, at the time the toy was sold, there was no name and address on it that would enable the person responsible in the UK to be identified. This is a legal requirement in itself under the Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011, and the toy should not have been put on sale by the retailer without it. Because this information was missing we were forced to attempt to trace the toy back to source via the supply chain. The retailer was asked to identify his supplier and provided an invoice from a UK-based wholesaler that he claimed related to his purchase of the toy. Unfortunately for the retailer, this invoice was very short on detail, specifically: Identifying that business or indeed anyone responsible in the UK supply chain other than the retailer has not proved possible in this instance and responsibility now rests solely with the retailer G The customer was not identified on the invoice G No specific goods were shown on the invoice G We were unable to place any reliance on this document The buck has therefore stopped with the retailer. To avoid finding themselves in a similar situation, retailers are reminded not to be complacent about what they sell on the basis of expecting that someone further up the supply chain will always be responsible. To comply with the Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011, new toys that you supply in the course of a business must be marked with: FIND OUT MORE Further guidance on labelling and safety requirements for toys can be found here. G The name and address of the manufacturer or if the maker is outside of the EU the name and address of both the manufacturer and the importer G Type, batch, serial or model number G The CE mark There were obvious and easy measures the retailer could have taken dont make the same mistakes. Credits: Murray Dewar Images: Olivier Le Queinec / Shutterstock