Recall: Procedure of Alert and Recall of Products and Services
On October 30, 2017, Resolution 808-E / 2017 of the Ministry of Production, which incorporated Resolution No. 4 of the Mercosur Consumer Technical Committee No. 7 into the Argentine legal system, was published in the Official Gazette. The Resolution establishes the procedure for alert and recall of products and services that are considered potentially harmful or dangerous.
Resolution 808-E/2017 (Resolution), which enters into force on November 30, 2017, provides specific rules for suppliers that conduct recalls regarding: (i) the requirements for the notifications to competent authorities and consumers (including a dissemination plan and the requirements of the attendance record); and (ii) the obligation to submit periodic reports to the same authorities (no more than 60 days apart) and a final alert report.
On the other hand, the Resolution establishes that the competent authorities may: (i) broaden or extend the recall and require additional requirements or modalities regarding the characteristics or periodicity of the recall advertisements and (ii) impose sanctions provided by the Consumer Protection Law (CPL) in the event of non-compliance.
In addition, the enforcement authorities on Consumer Defense with the Mercosur - the Argentine Directorate of Consumer Defense and the Argentine Ministry of Health (on issues of food and medicine products and services)- will report these procedures to the Inter-American Rapid Alert System platform (SIAR), which operates within the framework of the Organization of American States (OAS), specifically in the Consumer Safety and Health Network. The SIAR contains information on recalls conducted worldwide in order to efficiently and securely facilitate the exchange of information on alerts of potentially harmful or dangerous products and services.
This insight is a brief comment on legal news in Argentina; it does not purport to be an exhaustive analysis or to provide legal advice.