Retail surgery: Ensuring safety claims made by suppliers are legitimate

Having measures in place to check products are safe for use is not only vital in terms of avoiding reputational damage, but essential if these claims are proved to be untrue and the issue ends up in court.

Proving steps have been taken to monitor the extent to which these claims are supported by product testing and auditing will allow retailers to use a due diligence defence if they are prosecuted for unsubstantiated safety claims.

Pinsent Masons legal director Sarah Taylor says ensuring suppliers test products fully is an issue that should be investigated prior to doing business with them. “A retailer needs to ask if the manufacturer has the capacity and experience to meet its safety demands,” she says.

“Does it have an in-house testing team that can ensure products meet British or European standards? Do products receive a certificate marking their safety that stays with them when they leave the supplier?”

Once a manufacturer has been contracted to work for a retailer, the latter must continue to ensure checks and testing are satisfactory.

Taylor says: “The retailer can insist on regular visits to the manufacturer to ensure the testing process is satisfactory. The level of testing to meet safety standards can also be stated in the contract between the supplier and the retailer.

“Not only is this best practice, but from a legal perspective, it could help a retailer avoid a conviction if the issue was taken to court and reputational damage.”