Hazardous jewellery, toxic cosmetics and unsafe toys were among half a million items seized at East Midlands Airport in the last year. More than 521,000 unsafe or non-compliant items coming into EMA were seized. Leicestershire Trading Standards intercepted these items, which together are worth over £17m, and stopped potentially dangerous goods from entering the shops and marketplaces.
Seized items include electrical goods that could overheat and cause a fire, toys which did not meet UK safety standards, jewellery with high levels of hazardous metals and cosmetics with toxic ingredients. Non-compliant seizures are primarily for consignments which have been incorrectly labelled or when importers do not have the correct paperwork. In these cases, the importers are helped to correct the issues and release the goods for sale.
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An airport team works in partnership with Border Force on the nationally funded project at East Midlands airport. As the partnership is intelligence led, Trading Standards and Border Force can target resources in the most high risk areas, where potentially unlawful and non-compliant consignments can be identified, targeted and intercepted.
Most of the items seized were planned on being sold in large online marketplaces. East Midlands Airport is the second busiest cargo airport in the UK, and handles more than 320,000 tons of flown cargo each year.
The role of Trading Standards and Border Force is to examine the imported items and ensure that consumers are not exposed to unsafe and dangerous products by taking enforcement action.
Councillor Deborah Taylor, cabinet member for regulatory services, said: "Our Trading Standards team, in partnership with Border Force, carries out vital work which enhances the safety of consumers in Leicestershire and the wider UK as it ensures that unsafe goods do not make their way into the supply chain.
All these products which have been seized either present a danger to the public, or are substandard, so it is crucial that they are intercepted and either made safe or sent for recycling." Since the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit, the Trading Standards airport team has also observed an increase in the number of people importing cheap goods to sell from their homes.
However, people do not realise that this makes them importers responsible for complying with all relevant safety legislation.
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