A report by the executive European Commission's rapid alert system for non-food products, RAPEX, showed the number of goods posing a health and safety risk to consumers across the 27-nation bloc rose by 7 percent last year.
Listing some of the items, EU Consumer Affairs Commissioner John Dali told a news conference: "Magnet in toys, lead in paint, skin irritants in clothing and furniture, sun beds and other dangerous items that look like children toys."
Dali said the number of dangerous products notified to the system rose to 1,993 from 1,866 in 2008 and toys, clothing and motor vehicles accounted for 60 percent of the rogue products.
These products have been withdrawn and did not reach the marketplace.
He said the increase was largely due to the fact that EU governments were getting better at identifying dangerous imports before they reach consumers
Dali said he would go to China, the EU's second biggest trading partner after the United States, to discuss safety standards.
In 2007, many products made in mainland China including toys, pet food and dental products were either recalled or banned by safety authorities in the United States, the EU, Canada and Australia because safety concerns.
Dali said another round of mass recalls of products could dent consumers' confidence and trade.
"If citizens are concerned about the safety of products in the EU market, this could have a serious effects both on consumer confidence and on trade," Dali said. (Reuters)
