Regulatory movement
Product Safety, Regulatory and Liability Reform in the UK. The UK Product Regulation and Metrology Act and the Law Commission Review
20 January 2026
Product Safety, Regulatory and Liability Reform in the UK – what does 2026 have in store and what do businesses need to know? - The OPSS and Trading Standards
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Insight Article 20 January 2026 20 January 2026
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UK & Europe
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Regulatory movement
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Product Liability & Recall
The UK’s national product regulator, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) and Trading Standards are experiencing an increased focus on product safety driven by a heightened political emphasis on protecting consumers and evolving technology. In this article we discuss the impact of this on businesses and what they need to know for 2026.
Until 2018, consumer product safety regulations (apart from food, medicines and vehicles) were enforced entirely by local authority Trading Standards services, which sit within local authorities. In response to increasingly complex national and international product markets, the government created the OPSS in January 2018 to regulate consumer product safety at a national level. Its role includes identifying and assessing product risks, intervening directly on nationally significant product issues and managing large-scale product recalls. The OPSS works alongside Trading Standards services which still regulate at local level and undertake most enforcement activity
The OPSS has extensive powers that vary depending on the type of product and its full review of the UK's product safety regime and public consultation last year laid the groundwork for bringing forward the new regulatory powers detailed in the Product Regulation and Metrology Act.
The UK’s regulatory regime places responsibility on businesses to ensure the products they make and sell are safe. The OPSS therefore relies on influencing businesses to follow regulations and prevent harm being caused by unsafe products.
Despite the OPSS’s work issuing advice and guidance, the OPSS report in July 2025 confirmed that smaller businesses in particular showed less awareness of their product safety responsibilities with many citing their main challenges/consideration when importing products in to the UK was “negotiating the current economic climate, maximising or increasing revenue, turnover and sales; diversifying and expanding; and maintaining product quality and standards”[1] with product safety as a priority but not their first consideration.
Product safety compliance has implications across all businesses importing and manufacturing products in the UK. Failure to comply can:
- Impact a company’s ability to secure future contracts or business;
- Impact the cost of an ability to obtain insurance;
- Affect reputation and revenue; and
- Result in prosecution, delays in getting products onto shelves/to customers, fines, product recalls and removal of products from the market.
How to prioritise product safety in your business
1. Understand the Regulations and Standards required:
The OPSS Report in July reported that business’ awareness of regulations and obligations regarding product safety generally increased with business size. Sole traders tended to demonstrate the least amount of knowledge or awareness of regulations while the medium sized businesses that were interviewed demonstrated the most knowledge. However, there were some exceptions - awareness of the General Product Safety Regulations was low among all business sizes, suggesting that these regulations are not as well-known population wide.
The concept of “product safety” has significantly widened in recent years and companies must stay abreast of both EU and UK wide requirements as well as national laws introduced at a local Member State level to ensure full compliance and avoid significant penalties.
In the UK, the General Product Safety Regulations provide a broad umbrella of regulation to ensure that consumer products, when marketed, are safe. The regulations create a series of obligations on producers and distributors to help to ensure that this goal is achieved and to reduce the risk to consumers from unsafe products. The Regulations also give wide powers to Trading Standards departments and other authorities to ensure that unsafe products do not remain on the market and, if need be, are recalled.
The GPSR creates a general safety requirement for consumer products where there are no specific safety regulations covering that kind of product or where the regulations that do exist do not address particular risks. Therefore, they are an important reference point for many producers or distributors of products which are likely to end up in consumer use.
A 'safe' product is one which, under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use, does not present any risk or only the minimum risks compatible with the product's use and which are considered to be acceptable and consistent with a high level of protection for the safety and health of persons. 'Conditions of use' in this context also covers duration of use, putting into service, installation and maintenance.
Where a product complies with a recognised national or international standard it is presumed safe, insofar as the risks covered by that national standard are concerned. To that extent the Regulations have only a residual role to play in ensuring product safety.
There a variety of international standards for products - example, EN166 for eye protection, or ISO 2443 for sun cream. Those international standards also include requirements for design and manufacturer, risk categorisation, instructions/safety information, type approval, declarations of conformity and UKCA/EU CE marking. It is therefore important that businesses identify relevant standards for their products, put in place robust compliance programs, quality control and safety checks to ensure compliance with those standards. This proactive approach will ensure that all products meet EU and UK safety standards before being placed on the market, thereby enhancing product safety and reducing the risk of corrective actions, regulatory penalties and other liabilities.
2. Monitor and stay abreast of the Regulatory landscape
Given the legislative and political change taking place in the product safety and liability arena, it is key that companies monitor and stay abreast of regulatory updates, industry forums and stay infirmed on changes. Taking a proactive approach will ensure that companies are not reacting to change at cost but anticipating that change and therefore reducing the likelihood of non compliance.
3. Understand the steps to take if your product does not comply
Manufacturers who consider or have reason to believe that their product is not in conformity with GPSR / the relevant standards must immediately take the corrective measures necessary to bring it into conformity.
Furthermore, if the product presents a risk, manufacturers must immediately inform the enforcement authority to that effect, giving details, in particular, of the non-conformity and of any corrective measures taken. Those corrective measures could include withdrawing it from sale or even recall.
Advance planning is key and will enable businesses to act efficiently and quickly when product safety issues arise.
4. Understanding the consequences of failing to comply with product safety requirements:
The enforcement authorities, which are typically Trading Standards departments, have a variety of powers to obtain information and, in particular, to issue safety notices.
A safety notice can require that a producer or distributor:
- issue a notice warning about a danger with a product (warning notices);
- suspend the sale of a product (suspension notices);
- mark the product with, for example, a use warning (marking notices);
- withdraw the product from sale (withdrawal notices); or
- recall product previously supplied into the market (recall notices).
If Trading Standards/the local authority subsequently decide to prosecute for product safety failings, penalties can include a fine or a prison sentence of up to three months for the most serious offences. Where a company is convicted, its senior managers may also be guilty of the offence where it can be shown to have been committed with their consent or connivance or attributed to their neglect.
If you received a letter from trading standards or, worse, a safety notice is served, it is therefore essential that you take specialist legal advice rapidly.
Product safety regulations are undergoing a renewed focus within the UK and we can see that there is a strong appetite politically within the UK Government and the Law Commission to address product safety issues and to modernise and reset the UK’s regulatory landscape in respect of products.
This renewed focus has implications for every business involved in manufacturing or supplying products and the UK and it is important that businesses stay in front of those changes. Failing to keep abreast of these changes will result in enforcement actions and penalties along with litigation risks and reputational damage so businesses must continue to adapt and remain aware of their safety obligations.
In the event that support is required for businesses with any aspect of this article or any issues arising from product safety or product liability claims more generally, please contact Clyde & Co's Product Liability, Safety and Recall Team led by Partners, Peter Barnes and Charlotte Kelly.
[1] OPSS “Attitudes to product safety among small businesses” July 2025
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