BRUSSELS: From toy-shaped cigarette lighters to a short-circuting plush rabbit that catches fire, a European safety watchdog warned on Monday of a growing number of dangerous products for sale, with most coming from China.

The watchdog said it had issued 2,435 notifications of unsafe products ranging from children’s playthings to clothing and appliances in 2014, which was three per cent more than in 2013.

Around 64pc of the dangerous goods were made in China, including Hong Kong, the same figure as 2013, said the Rapid Alert System (RAPEX), which includes the 28 EU states as well as Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

“For me, as a mother and already a grandmother, the high number of harmful products among toys is alarming, so please beware of what you give your children to play with,” said Vera Jourova, the European commissioner for consumer affairs.

“It was also surprising how high a number of harmful products comes to the European market from China,” she told a press conference in Brussels.

Toys topped the list of products stopped before they entered European markets or were seized afterwards, at 28pc, followed by clothing (23pc), electrical appliances (9pc) and motor vehicles (8pc).

Published in Dawn March 24th , 2015

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