I am honored to have had the opportunity to be part of the European Commission - UNCTAD panel during International Product Safety Week 2022.

The next generation of product safety ambassadors, Ugochi Obidiegwu, Elizabeth Iberico Robles, Nina Kriznik, Mihaela Magdalena Margel and myself, discussed how to ensure the safety of products offered to consumers, especially young consumers.

They made a striking call for real action and regulation to protect young people from the growing risks brought by the digital marketplace, and inspired an auditorium full of experts, regulators and advocates at the European Commission to utilize evolving tools, such as AI and social media, in the future of product safety.

Through various channels, such as the Internet, television, and social networks, numerous food products are advertised to children and young people every day, even if those are not recommended or even safe for their consumption. An example of this is energy drinks. Since the current EU regulation on food marketing to children mainly relies on self-regulation of the market, which in practice does not work, stricter and more binding rules have to be put in place at the national and EU levels to protect our youngest population. This is a joint action started by 10 European consumer associations (including ZPS) together with BEUC - The European Consumer Organisation in 2021.

Another important priority regarding product safety should also be to include all the key stakeholders in the conversation. Companies whose products are misused in viral videos on social media should react in a socially responsible manner and draw attention to the problem instantly. The regulators need to change the way they communicate product safety to younger population and their parents and replace the long-form articles with condensed, clear, and attractive messages that can be shared through social media. Also, social media platforms should be responsible for the content that is displayed on them... So only if everyone (the regulators, consumer organizations, companies, social media platforms, young consumers and their parents, etc.) is involved and only if everyone shares the responsibility with respect to product safety can we make a change in that regard.

The video recordings of the conference is available: https://lnkd.in/dQVZPBpH

A special thank you to Consumers International (Antonino Serra Cambaceres, Thea Parson), European Commission (Myriam Denieul, Pinuccia Contino) and UNCTAD (Arnau Izaguerri Vila) for inviting me.