Guides
Guides on product recalls, official announcements and the documents that accompany decisions by the authorities.
Recall and withdrawal: the difference, and where the notices are published
What the EU product safety regulation means by recall and by withdrawal, what a notice contains, and which authority publishes what in the European Union and in Germany.
Repair, replacement or refund: what the regulation provides in a recall
What Article 37 of the EU General Product Safety Regulation states about the three remedies, return shipping costs and deadlines.
Batch and lot number: the detail that decides whether your pack is affected
What a lot is, why a letter L often precedes the number, when the lot number may be left off entirely, and what the equivalent is called on non-food products.
Risk categories: what the reason stated in a recall means
What each standard risk category in a recall notice means, which ones appear most often in the European Union, and how the picture shifts from country to country.
Best before or use by: two dates that do not mean the same thing
What the EU food information regulation states about the difference between the two dates, when a food is deemed unsafe, and which products need no date at all.
How to search the Safety Gate yourself
What the EU alert database for dangerous products contains, what it leaves out, which filters it offers, and why the absence of an alert is not a statement of safety.