Vince Shiers 
The European Commission is in the final stages of consultation on a revision to the General Product Safety Directive (published in 2001) covering the safety of non-food consumer products, which would result in it becoming a regulation. In the initial roadmap consultation document from 2020, the EC described the reasons for the need to revise … Read more
Following our analysis of the pandemic effect on product recalls in 2020, we were interested to see how 2021 is shaping up, and have now compiled the latest food recall numbers up to the end of May 2021. We have also extrapolated these numbers to year end to see how it looks compared to previous … Read more
A public spat emerged between the CPSC and Peloton regarding the potential risks associated with a treadmill. The two parties exchanged statements criticising the other. This very unusual public display has prompted a change in the law. Proposed changes to the US Consumer Product Safety Act would mean that authorities have the power to freely … Read more
The report considers an outbreak investigation related to E. coli O157:H7 illnesses and the consumption of leafy greens that took place between August and December 2020. The FDA, alongside state and federal partners, investigated the outbreak to identify potential contributing factors that may have led to leafy green contamination with E. coli O157:H7. Key findings … Read more
92% of those responsible for food safety ranked ‘Protecting consumers’ as their prime driver for food safety in their business We have been monitoring the number of food product recalls around the world throughout the pandemic. We observed significant “pandemic” effects in reduced numbers of recalls in most regions for at least a few months … Read more
The 2020 European Commission Safety Gate report was recently published. Safety Gate is the EU rapid alert system, formerly known as RAPEX, for dangerous consumer products which helps to take dangerous non-food products off the market. Key findings: 2253 alerts in 2020, this has remained fairly consistent for the past 8yrs. 9% of alerts were … Read more
In its recent ‘Reputational Risk Survey’ Willis Towers Watson revealed that 86 percent of clients are concerned about loss of income and customers due to reputational risk. In this article we discuss the findings and how RQA can help you minimise your risk.
RQA Group Energy Risks Consultant, Adrian Latimer, reviews the current state of the market, his thoughts on 2021, the rush to energy transition and his top 10 considerations for energy underwriters.
Vince Shiers, MD of RQA Group, looks back on 2020 and what he is looking forward to in 2021
We have been tracking the recall numbers globally throughout the year, to monitor any impact the pandemic might have and reporting on these monthly. We have now taken a look at the total numbers for 2020 and it is clear that the pandemic had an effect in most regions, throughout different points in the year, … Read more