Counterfeit Electrical Products Report
One of the best received sessions at Electrical Safety First’s annual Product Safety Conference this year was on the Proliferation of Online Fake Electrical Products.
Supporting this was a report launched at the conference and provided to all delegates, “A shocking rip off: The true cost of counterfeit electrical products”.
This report detailed research undertaken by Electrical Safety First into the current market for counterfeit electrical products in the UK, including a consumer survey and the purchase and testing of a variety of counterfeits.
The investigation, which included X-ray photographs of the products as well as comprehensive laboratory testing, uncovered numerous serious safety issues with a range of counterfeit products investigated. This included a complete lack of safety features, risk of fire and electric shock hazards and across the board poor performance. The message is clear – far from being a bargain, these products present a significant fire risk and their use may result in electric shock.
The report also features comments from experts in the area such as the Anti-Counterfeiting Group (ACG), the London Fire Brigade and the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland (SCOTSS).
Recommendations of the report include:
- A need for all parties to recognise that counterfeit electrical products are a serious and growing problem
- The government must give more support to market surveillance and enforcement authorities and encourage them to work more closely together and share intelligence more effectively both nationally and internationally
- Manufacturers, importers and retailers must ensure they have full control and traceability over their entire supply chain and audit regularly
- A need for public education as to the risks posed by counterfeit electrical products
You can download a copy of the report by clicking on the link to the right of this page.