Europe’s Product Safety Overhaul Targets Online Marketplaces and Digital Traceability

Amid cadmium risks in children's food, Switzerland proposes new e-commerce safety rules, digital product passports, and stiffer corporate penalties in Germany.

A warning about cadmium levels in children’s food has sharpened the case for tighter product surveillance. In June 2026, Germany’s Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) published a study alerting that weekly intake of cadmium from cereal products and potatoes could exceed the guideline of 2.5 micrograms per kilogram of body weight in young children. The finding underscores why regulators across Europe are pushing for more powerful oversight tools—from digital product passports to stricter rules for online sales platforms.

Switzerland is moving to close a regulatory gap that has long made online marketplaces difficult to police. The Federal Council opened a consultation in early June on a partial revision of the Product Safety Act (PrSG). Under the proposed changes, e-commerce platforms and fulfillment service providers would shoulder new obligations. They must ensure clear product identification and display safety warnings directly within the digital sales process. Companies will also have to designate a binding point of contact for authorities.

Market surveillance agencies would gain expanded powers. They could conduct anonymous test purchases and, in serious cases, block access to dangerous online listings. The government is also discussing a supervisory levy on direct imports from abroad, intended to cover the costs of controlling cross-border goods traffic. The consultation period runs until 28 September 2026.

The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) had already updated its own guidance in February 2026. Its revised FAQ helps manufacturers and traders interpret complex legal questions—especially how the PrSG relates to sector-specific laws and what safety standards apply to prototypes and exhibition pieces. The documents also address requirements for second-hand goods and associated maintenance duties. SECO stresses that the primary legal texts remain authoritative; the FAQ merely reflect current administrative practice.

Meanwhile, penalties for corporate violations are stiffening in Germany. At the end of May 2026, the federal government tabled a draft amendment to the Act on Regulatory Offences. Future fines for companies will be calculated more closely in line with their financial circumstances and, importantly, the compliance measures they demonstrably implemented.

On the technological front, the digital product passport (DPP) is gaining traction as a tool for lifecycle traceability. At this year’s DPP4EU conference, technical standards were presented that enable seamless product data provision from manufacture to disposal. Batteries have been subject to specific DPP rules since 2023; systems for textiles, electronics and construction materials are under development. Fraunhofer IPK experts said the goal is a globally interoperable data ecosystem.

The urgency of such a system is also visible in recent recalls. In June 2026, a retail chain pulled a hot-air fryer from shelves because of wiring and temperature control defects that posed a fire risk. In the food sector, unauthorised pesticides in imported goods and undeclared allergens in baked goods prompted intensified inspections. The combination of digital traceability, platform accountability and steeper fines, regulators hope, will make dangerous products harder to sell—and easier to catch.