This week, Costa Rica joined the global campaign on social networks called: “Buy and Sell Insurance Products Online,” through the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC) and the Directorate of Consumer Support, in order to raise awareness about the importance of buying and selling safe products online.
The initiative is promoted globally by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and it also aims to ensure that consumers verify the safety of items purchased through an online platform.
All suppliers have an obligation to sell products that are not harmful to consumers; so the articles circulating in the market must have adequate safety standards to avoid injury or even death.
Costa Rica has a regulated system of removal of unsafe products, through which companies that identify an unforeseen risk must inform the Consumer Support Directorate of the MEIC and alert consumers to suspend its use. During the last 12 years, 62 product have been removed from the market.
Different sources of information are available for the detection of unsafe products, ranging from the producers or importers who warn about an unforeseen risk, or alerts placed on international product safety portals, to warnings from hospitals or other consumers about injuries caused by the use under normal conditions.
Online commerce and the direct importation of products by the consumer poses an additional risk, since there are different types of suppliers and therefore, the consumer is more exposed to risky products reaching their hands or those of their children.
The MEIC makes efforts in coordination with other world organizations to promote the consumption of safe products in the population; therefore it joins this important campaign to share relevant information about the sites that can be consulted to know the products that have been removed from different markets. In the case of our country, you can enter the site: consumo.go.cr and visit the product withdrawal site,”
said Victoria Hernández, Minister of Economy.