New food industrial company was founded in Hungary, under the name; Hungarian Tastes Trade Association. The Hungarian Tastes Trade Association (Magyar Ízek Kereskedelmi Szövetség) with a registered capital of 85 million HUF aims to continue the initiative launched by the Craft Hungarian Flavours (Kézműves Magyar Ízek) and to provide additional tools and resources for the promotion of Hungarian products.

The National Assembly adopted the amendment of the Consumer Protection Act, which allows the handling of complaints in the future faster. The authority of the conciliation bodies will expand as well. According to the last Tuesday statement of the National Economy Ministry (NGM), the government intends to create a consumer protection law, that has a broad social acceptance, and professional negotiation precedes it. Accordingly, the consumers protection associations and the business interest representatives were involved and the proposal was also discussed. by the Consumer Protection Board.

HACP has a number of international cooperation agreements, among others with Austria; this agreement was expanded, and the previous year was evaluated, in Eisenstadt, at a meeting attended by Deputy Director General Krisztina Csákiné dr. Gyuris and the professional leaders of the authority. The Hungarian participants were received by Ms. Verena Dunst (member of the Burgenland Regional Government responsible for consumer protection), Ms. Natascha Varga (head of the consumer protection department of the Burgenland Regional Government), and Mr. Harald Dunkl, consumer protection desk officer of the department in the Office of the Burgenland Regional Government. The parties exchanged views on the execution of laws based on the implementation of EU directives like the act on the prohibition of unfair commercial practices or regulations related to trade outside retail outlets.

European Commission - Press release

Latest report on safety of products shows
fewer dangerous items reaching the EU market

Brussels, 08 May 2012 - EU consumers want to be sure that the products – whether produced in the EU or imported from third-countries - are safe. The good news is that thanks to the increasing effectiveness of the EU's rapid alert system for non-food dangerous products ("RAPEX") dangerous products are detected earlier and more effectively and are more promptly removed from the EU market. This process involves a chain of actions including upstream efforts to design out risks at source, better risk assessment and close co-operation between EU authorities, notably customs, to identify risks at the points of entry. >>>

The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), the scientific agency of the Federal Republic of Germany, has released an updated opinion, No. 010/2012 regarding contact allergens in toys specific to the health assessment of nickel and fragrances, recommending that:

• Nickel release limit specified in REACH, 0.5 µg/cm2/week, should be applied to toys.

• 55 banned fragrances should not be detected. (Per the new EU Toy Safety Directive (TSD) 2009/48/EC, trace amounts up to 100 mg per kg toy material are permitted, but in the view of the BfR, this limit is too high.)

• The threshold for 11 declared fragrances (as per the TSD) should be lowered from 100mg/kg to 10mg/kg.

• Toys for children under three years of age should not contain fragrances.

The opinion of the BfR does not change the legal requirements of the TSD, but should be taken under consideration when importing products onto the German market.   >>>

As summer is approaching, some consumer protection issues related to the season are raised.  What can you do if your flight is cancelled when you are leaving for your holiday? What if a travel agency does not provide proper services? Which type of sun cream should you choose? And what other things should you pay special attention to during your travel?

Answers to these and other questions will be given by representatives of the Association of Conscious Consumers, the European Consumer Association and the Tékozló Homár blog.

The evening will be concluded by the consumer protection stand-up show of István Dombovári.

Date: 24 May, 19:00, Venue: Európa Pont

A new study finds children's product recalls dropped 24% in 2011, but injuries associated with these recalls grew 7%. Approximately 40% of recalls last year, or 121 of 310, involved children's products. Manufacturer/supplier response rates has remained unchanged during the past few years, with only 15-30% of the products sent back; but high-profile recalls seem to get a higher response. The average recall response rate for child safety seats —regulated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)— is about 41%, whereas approximately 75% of car and light truck owners take their vehicles back due to a recall, which are bolstered by mandatory registration. >>>

Last November, the Director General of the authority was invited to a summit in Nagyvárad, at which the participants agreed to set up a joint working group. As a result, the first meeting of the working group was held  in Hajdúszoboszló. The meeting was attended by the experts and leaders of the Hungarian Authority for Consumer Protection and the Romanian Consumer Protection Authoritity, as well as the directors of Maros, Szatmárnémeti and Bihor counties in Romania and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, Békés, Csongrád and Hajdú-Bihar counties in Hungary. >>>

The consumer protection inspections will continue and will be regular in the future to provide appropriate quality and standard to the customers – emphasized Pesti Imre, Government Office commissioner of the Budapest Government Office on Thursday at a press conference in Budapest. He pointed out that the consumer advocates inspected 63 different stores of supermarket chains in the capital between the 14^th of November and the 22^nd of  December 2011. The opposition rate was 49 percent, and 16 million HUF fines was imposed. In January and February this year, 64 stores were examined, the offense  rate was 61 percent and 67.5 million fines was imposed. (MTI)

The activity of the authority is significantly influenced by its cooperation with its foreign counterparts. This fact provided a basis for a meeting between Director General István Pintér and the leaders of the Romanian consumer protection authority. At the event, organized in Transylvania, the participants evaluated the practical experience gained through the cooperation between the two countries, and agreed on a joint plan concerning the operation of a market supervision working group, to be set up in the near future. István Pintér travelled to Marosvásárhely at the invitation of Constanstin Cerbulescu, President of the Romanian Consumer Protection Authority.

Some consumer products - namely cosmetics, personal care and household products - are presented to consumers in ways that make them imitate food or appeal to children. This is for instance the case of certain shower gels, shampoos, body lotions, soaps, liquid soaps and dishwashing liquids. It is reasonable to expect that the closer a product resembles food and the more attractive it is to children, the more likely it is to be. >>>

Government decision No. 1011/2012 (I. 23.) on the Government measures necessary for the execution of the action plan until 2014 regarding the implementation of Hungary’s 4^th medium-term consumer protection policy set as a basic requirement that, as regards the application of law, compliance must also be fostered using preventive and alternative means, and requires that the criteria for a ‘consumer friendly’ logo should be established and introduced. In order to execute this task, HACP created a ‘Consumer-friendly Certification System’, and the detailed framework of tenders to be invited for the award of this distinguishing mark. >>>

The International Product Safety Week 2012 will take place from 15-19 October 2012 in Brussels. We invite you to save the date in your calendars.

The draft programme is as follows:

• 15-10 a market surveillance seminar organised by PROSAFE
• 16/17-10 the International Symposium organised by ICPHSO (the International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organisation)
• 18-10 (am) International Consumer Product Safety Caucus (ICPSC) regulators' meeting (restricted participation)
• 18-10 (pm) RAPEX-CHINA Working Group (restricted participation) - to be confirmed
• 19-10 (am) the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) workshop on 'Global Recalls Pool'

 More details: follow this link

The Hungarian Quality Product Award, the most prestigious voluntary certification system in Hungary, was granted already for the 15^th time. The aim of the tender is to recognize and honour high-quality Hungarian products and services and promote a quality-conscious approach, as well as to improve the general level of product safety and consumer protection by positively encouraging manufacturers, agricultural growers and service providers. >>>

In July 2010, the Hungarian Authority for Consumer Protection started the restructuring of the organization and the way of operation with the intention of carrying out in-depth change. During the process, the system of law application has changed, and new alternative incentive and informative initiatives have been introduced. Main achievements in the period between July 2010 and March 2012 >>>

The Hungarian Authority for Consumer Protection and the Food Chain Safety Board of Heves County identified only minor offenses during their controls, focusing on Easter products – announced László Horváth, Government Agent on Thursday in Eger. The typical problem was the lack of price indications, and that the packaging of the product was also measured with the product. In 35 percent of the tests it was found that the price indications were missing and in 11 percent of the cases overcharging was the problem with the additional measurement of the packaging material – he added.  (MTI)

Those businesses can apply for consumer-friendly logo, on which no complaints were sent to the Hungarian Authority for Consumer Protection (HACP)– told Pintér István, the authority’s Director-General at a press conference in Eger on Wednesday. István Pintér said that it is an important aspect of the assessment that the applicants should offer consumer-friendly services for young, elderly, or disabled people, beyond the mandatory conditions. The deadline for submission of the tenders is 31 May, the companies can receive the trademark registered by National Office of Intellectual Property after two months of evaluation for two years – added the Director-General.

Considering the further development of consumer protection as a key issue, the Government has accepted its 4^th medium-term consumer protection policy, as well as an action plan until 2014 for the implementation thereof. A key priority in state consumer protection is the performance of market supervision activities and the enhanced protection of under-18s, but it also facilitates alternative and preventive incentives, with the goal of, among other things, introducing a ‘consumer-friendly’ logo. >>>

The new toy safety directive 2009/48/EC introduced strict migration limits for lead in toys. The new directive also foresees the possibility to amend these limits when new scientific evidence is made available, in order to assure constant alignment on the latest scientific evidence and appropriate protection for children. The latest EFSA study (2010) on Lead in Food concluded that it is impossible to establish, for lead, a threshold below which no critical effect on health can be observed. Therefore, EFSA recommended reducing the lead exposure from both food and non foods products.  >>>

The Hungarian Authority for Consumer Protection (HACP), in order to promote attitude in compliance with the law, announced a consumer-friendly enterprise application for small and medium enterprises of trade and catering. The deadline is 31 May – announced István Pintér, the Director-General on Thursday, at a press conference in Budapest. The Director-General of the HACP pointed out, that to the last year introduced positive list of the law-abiding businesses, about 1,300 companies are included. With the operation of the consumer-friendly enterprise certification system, the authority intends to achieve law-abiding attitude. 

The organizers of the Fair of Hungarian Handicraft Taste Products will open new stores in the forthcoming – announced the organizers at the press conference of the fair, that will be held in March. The network dealing with the sale of Hungarian handicraft products developing rapidly: after the launch of the first store in October in the next few weeks new stores will be opened in Szeged and in Budapest – announced Pap Krisztián, manager of the Kézműves Magyar Ízek Kft., the main organizer of the fair. The new shops will sell the food products of small craft companies, family businesses. The Hungarian Authority for Consumer Protection (HACP) will be on the fair, with the new project, the National Consumer Product Basket. The initiative aims to collect and recommend especially Hungarian produced and distributed quality products, that are outstanding in quality and value per price comparision, on the basis of the evaluation of the consumers.

The 15th Hungarian Product Grand Prix® competition was announced in 2012. Its main objective is to promote a quality-conscious approach, by which conscious consumer behaviour can be achieved. Applications are welcome in 17 categories, with products and services produced in an environmentally friendly way.

Serious forces were moved by the European authorities in recent months, to eliminate criminal organizations distributing counterfeit food products. The Hungarian authorities were also involved in the process. The list of seized products is led by low-quality wines of which 300 thousand euros worth goods were blocked. The authorities also seized fish, olive oil, tomato sauce, cheese, sweet products. In Hungary, medical products, clothes, shoes, electrical appliances and toys were included on the list of shoddy or fake goods – reports penzcentrum.hu.

P R E S S  R E L E A S E

According to Malév’s communication: “Based on the Board of Directors’ decision Hungary’s National Airline ceased its operation to minimize its losses. According to this statement, after nearly 66 years of continuous operation, Malév aircrafts will not depart from 6 a.m. 3^rd February.” Besides the fundamental rights set down in Regulation No. 261/2004/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (hereinafter referred to as Regulation), the Government of Hungary has taken serious state-funded measures in order to provide a high-level protection to those passengers who purchased their valid Malév tickets and to ensure compliance with general consumer protection requirements. 

In order to get more detailed information about this issue please call the customer service line of the European Consumer Centre Hungary. For more information click on the headline! >>>

The government has approved Hungary’s 4th medium term, consumer protection policy lasting until 2014 and also the task plan of measures – told the National Economy Ministry (NGM). According to the communication; the most important tasks are: explicit government action and involvement with the strong, well-functioning state consumer protection authority, proportionality and consistency sanctioning practices during the consumer protection proceedings in order to improve consumer sentiment and to improve the more conscious consumer behavior. (MTI)

Last year, higher than average number of consumer complaints arrived to e-commerce, therefore the Hungarian Authority for Consumer Protection (HACP) will monitor more closely these areas in 2012 – said István Pintér, the Director General of the HACP on Thursday at a press conference in Békéscsaba.The Director General emphasized that the consumer protection strategy protects the vulnerable people more. The young people from the alcohol and tobacco products, the pensioners from the product marketing combined with travelling – reports MTI.

The Senate of Belgium has proposed a national ban on bisphenol A (BPA) in all food contact materials aimed at children under three years. If approved by the Belgium House of Representative, the new law would enter into force on January 1, 2013. As part of a government strategy to curb human exposure to BPA, Sweden has taken steps to become the first country in the world to phase out the use of this controversial chemical in food and beverage can linings. Since March 2011 the use of BPA in baby bottles has been banned throughout the EU, and France and Denmark have implemented legislation to further restrict the use of BPA. The European Commission (EC) has stated that it will review its position on BPA in food contact materials by the end of 2012.

After the positive list of businesses, the Hungarian Authority for Consumer Protection (HACP) supports the dissemination of quality-conscious consumption with the introduction of National Consumer Product Basket – told István Pintér, the Director General of the HACP at a Thursday press conference in Debrecen. The Consumer Product Basket developed on a Swedish model - consists of three parts. The first two – the module recommending quality products on the basis of the various rating systems (such as the Hungarian Quality Product Award) can be found at the website of NFH – said the Director General – reports MTI.  The initiative aims to collect and recommend especially Hungarian produced and distributed quality products, that are outstanding in quality and value per price comparision, on the basis of the evaluation of the consumers . The authority plans to start the third modul at the end of summer, which will help to plan for the families quality products to buy, for economical prise.

The European Commission launched a new web portal for cosmetic products - the Cosmetic Products Notification Portal (CPNP). The Portal will be a one stop shop for the cosmetic industry to submit information about the products placed on the EU market. This is of critical importance to poison centres so that they can react quickly to help callers in case of poisoning and to national authorities for better market surveillance. The Portal will also reduce the administrative burden for the industry.   >>>

The staff of the Hungarian Authority for Consumer Protection (HACP) were found out that the organizers of the presentations did not carry out their commercial activities in accordance with the law in 63 cases, out of 87 controls. The consumer advocates investigated the commercial activities between the 5th of September 2011 and the 28th of October. According to the report of the HACP; mainly unfair trade practice violations have been occurred during the investigations and at 39 trade shows deceptive trade practices have been revealed – reports Magyar Nemzet Online.

Were you ever about to sign a contract for a personal loan, credit card, or other consumer credit and discovered that it was all working out more expensive than you had first expected? An EU-wide investigation of websites offering consumer credit took place to check whether consumers are receiving the information to which they are entitled under EU consumer law1 before signing a consumer credit contract. National enforcement authorities checked more than 500 websites across the 27 Member States plus Norway and Iceland. >>>

In total, about 60 million HUF fines were imposed by the Hungarian Authority for Consumer Protection's inspectors during their pre-Christmas consumer protection controls. Zsuzsanna Fülöp, the spokesperson  of the authority told, that the inspectors examined 454 stores and 13 thousand products. In 55 percent of the stores problems were found. Consumer protection procedures were initated in 144 cases and 60 million forints worth fines were imposed – reports MTI.

Out-of-court dispute resolution for consumers

You don't have to go to court if a seller refuses to repair your laptop which broke down under guarantee or you can't agree with a travel agent over a refund for a ruined holiday. That is, if you are lucky, because today, out-of-court dispute resolution in the EU is only possible for some business sectors or regions. The Commission's new legislative proposals ensure that EU consumers can solve their contractual disputes with traders without going to court, regardless of where and how in the EU they bought the product or service in question.  >>>

More and more effective consumer protection is realized in the conciliation boards – commented Baranovszky György, the president of the Conciliation Board of Budapest on past Wednesday, at press conference. He said that 2805 cases arrived to the Conciliation Board of Budapest until the 30th of  November this year, which is a 23 percent increase, compared to the previous year. It indicates, that consumers are increasingly aware, and it is a positive trend, that businesses are increasingly subjected themselves under the alternative dispute resolution procedures – reports MTI.

A new U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) report shows toy-related deaths of children younger than 15 increased last year, and injuries remain high with nearly 252,000 children, under 15, treated in emergency rooms due to toy-related injuries.  In 2010 there were 17 toy-related child fatalities, up from 15 in 2009, with 11 of the 17 (65 percent) reported deaths involving balloons, small balls, and game and accessory parts.  In contrast, in 2009, 8 out of the 15 (53 percent) reported fatalities were associated with riding toys. The report you can read here.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has launched new features to the SaferProducts.gov Business Portal making it easier and more efficient for businesses to work with CPSC. A new, online form allows manufacturers, private labelers and importers to submit required reports of potentially hazardous or defective products, making it easier for businesses to report product hazards and to communicate and provide to CPSC. Therefore, fulfilling their obligations in a more efficient and cost saving manner.  >>>

The National Consumer Product Basket (NCPB) initative strengthens quality-conscious consumption, which is  becoming more and more frequent among the buyers – said István Pintér, the Director-General of the Hungarian Authority for Consumer Protection (HACP) at a press conference in Nyíregyháza on Tuesday. Through the compilation of the product basket the consumers will know about such goods that have an incredible quality and value / price ratio on the basis of the evaluation of the domestic consumers – reports MTI.

From 9^th to 10^th November 2011 the Autumn General Assembly Meeting of PROSAFE (Product Safety Enforcement Forum for Europe) was organized in Budapest, Hungary – as a first country from the east-central countries – by the Hungarian Authority for Consumer Protection (HACP). PROSAFE is a non-profit organization established in 1991 by market surveillance offices from various countries throughout Europe; the organization commemorated its 20^th anniversary in this year. Besides the 35 member countries international organizations (such as ANEC, BUSINESSEUROPE, EUROSAFE, EFTA and ORGALIME) are also official partners.  >>>

Christmas is a very busy time of year for Santa Claus. He has to get the sleigh ready, feed his reindeers, check his list to be sure he hasn't forgotten any good girls and boys…and make sure that the toys the elves have purchased are not only fun, but also safe! This year, his task will be easier than ever before: since July 2011, toys sold in the EU must satisfy the strictest safety rules in the world.   >>>

The Hungarian Authority for Consumer Protection Authority (HACP) together with the Government Offices will carry out its inspections in the retail sector between the 14th and the 23rd of December, which aims at ensuring the conditions for safe Christmas shopping. The authority will test in its laboratory the safety of Christmas light chains and will carry out on site inspections at markets and stores in order to filter out dangerous products.  >>>

The Hungarian Authority for Consumer Protection (HACP) has launched the National Consumer Product Basket initiative, which aims to collect and recommend especially Hungarian produced and distributed quality products, that are outstanding in quality and value per price comparision, on the basis of the evaluation of the consumers – announced István Pintér, the Director General of HACP at Thursday’s press conference in Budapest. >>>

In the event of cancellation of a flight, passengers may claim, under certain conditions, compensation for non-material damage in addition to that awarded for material damage suffered. Further, a passenger may claim compensation for cancellation of a flight where his aeroplane took off but, for whatever reason, was subsequently forced to return to the airport of departure and that passenger was transferred to another flight.   >>>

On 28 October 2011, the European Consumer Centres Network published their report “Air Passengers Rights Report 2011 – in the aftermath of the Volcanic Ash Crisis”, highlighting problems that passengers in the EU experienced in 2010 and still do today i.e. cancelled flights and lost luggage. The report examines the help available to passengers in those circumstances. You can download the full report here.

On 9 November, the European Commission will unveil the new Health for Growth and Consumer Programmes which will run from 2014 to 2020. The Health for Growth Programme focuses on offering clear EU-added value and on further strengthening the link between economic growth and a healthy population. The Consumer Programme will support EU consumer policy in the years to come. It will contribute to the objective of placing consumers at the centre of the Single Market and empowering them to participate actively in the market and make it work for them.   >>>

The European Commission adopted revised proposals clarifying the information that industry can supply to the public on prescription-only medicines. Patients are increasingly interested in learning more about the medicines they take and want more of a say in how they are treated. At the same time, patients are confronted with a growing volume of information from various sources and often find it difficult to identify reliable information about medicines. The increased use of the internet over recent years makes the need for clarity even more important. Online information on medicines must be accurate and reliable.     >>>

No company likes to recall one of its products, but when a safety hazard makes a product recall necessary to prevent injuries or save lives, it’s a benefit to everyone to know how to handle the situation quickly and effectively. Manufactures, importers, distributors and retailers will benefit from this free, 30 minute webinar “How to Handle a Recall,” presented by UL-STR on November 17, 2011 at 11:00 AM (EST) where we will discuss various company responsibilities mandated by the Consumer Product Safety Act, and provide guidance on how to handle a recall.    >>>

Financial services, investments (including pensions and securities),  mortgages and real estate services are the markets which are the most likely to be failing consumers across the EU, according to the latest Consumer Markets Scoreboard. Among goods markets, second-hand cars and fuels have the poorest ratings. As in 2010, services markets continue to underperform, with financial services and network services all below average. Electricity supply and fuels have deteriorated most in comparison with 2010. The Scoreboard’s main index ranks  the consumer markets, in terms of consumer trust, satisfaction, the ease of comparing offers, problems and complaints.  >>>

"Competition: what's in it for consumers" is the theme of the European Competition and Consumer Day organised by the Polish Presidency of the EU and taking place in Poznań (Poland) on 24-25 November 2011.The theme of the conference is the benefits of market competition for consumers.The event will provide a broader perspective on business-to-consumer relations by bringing antimonopoly experts and consumer rights advocates under one roof.The conference aims to help improve the way in which both competition and consumer policies are designed, to make sure that the national markets and the single market are working for consumers.The event is organised by the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection .Registration is open until 17 November 2011.

 

Across the country more than seven hundred companies are included to the positive list – told István Pintér, the Director General of the Hungarian Authority for Consumer Protection on Thursday in Szekszárd. Those companies can enter the positive list, where no deficiencies were found, the authority has not taken a penalty against them in the previous year, and there were no consumer complaints against them – reports MTI.

 

The EU Member States have two years to transpose the legislation of the consumer contractual rights, since the European Council adopted them on October 10 and will publicly announce it in twenty days – said Zoltán Cséfalvay, State Secretary of the National Economy Ministry, at the Tuesday meeting of the National Consumer Committee of the Parliament. Zoltán Cséfalvay said that the directive on the consumers contractual rights – which was brought to success during the Hungarian presidency – will improve consumer protection in the fields of contracts outside of the stores, including the online commercial transactions as well – reports MTI.