Overview
The EU’s General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) (2023/988) helps to ensure that consumer products placed on the market are safe. It replaces the old General Product Safety Directive and the Food Imitating Product Directive and will be enforced from 13 December 2024.
For UK brands selling into the EU, this means that products must be safety tested, comply with traceability requirements and be prepared for market surveillance and recalls, otherwise those products cannot be sold in that market.
There are several requirements for the GPSR, including the need to print certain information on the packaging, such as the manufacturer's contact details and the contact details of the responsible person in the EU. In addition, specific information must be submitted directly to retailers to ensure compliance with the regulation.
GPSR and GS1 standards
GS1 standards can play a crucial role in helping companies comply with GPSR by enhancing product traceability, ensuring accurate product identification, and facilitating efficient information sharing.
In particular, the Global Data Synchronisation Network (GDSN) - the world's largest product data network - enabling companies to share product information across their supply chain seamlessly and in real-time.
If you are already using GDS or plan to in future, you can transmit attributes specific to GPSR, as detailed in Article 19, with your retailers:
Contact Information Requirements (Article 19)
(a): Name, registered trade name or registered trademark of the manufacturer, as well as the postal and electronic address at which they can be contacted.
(b): Where the manufacturer is not established in the Union, the name, postal and electronic address of the responsible person within the meaning of Article 16(1) of this Regulation or Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020.
GS1 has provided guidelines on how these attributes can be exchanged with your retailers when using GDSN. You can access them here.
GDSN services are provided by GS1 certified data pools. To find one to help you with your product data sharing requirements, have a look at the GS1 Global Office website:
It's important to highlight that you can only use GDSN if the retailer has specified that you can use it. If not, the information needs to be submitted via the methods described by your retailer, such as supplier portals or forms. Please check with your retailer if you are not sure.