What Is ICPHSO – International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization – and what is its role in Consumer Product Safety ?
What Is ICPHSO – International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization – and what is its role in Consumer Product Safety ?
Product safety requires cooperation between those who design, manufacture, test and sell products, as well as those responsible for checking compliance with applicable requirements. In a global marketplace, where the same product can reach consumers in numerous countries, exchanging information helps identify and prevent risks.
ICPHSO – International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization provides an international forum for this dialogue. It brings together professionals from different backgrounds who share a common goal: improving the safety of products used by consumers worldwide.
A global nonprofit organisation founded in 1993
Founded in 1993 in the United States, ICPHSO is a global nonprofit organisation dedicated to consumer product health and safety.
The organisation operates as a neutral, independent forum where participants can discuss shared challenges, exchange experiences and explore practical approaches to reducing risks associated with consumer products.
This structure brings different perspectives into the same conversation. Manufacturers can explain challenges encountered during product design and production, authorities can discuss market surveillance, and consumer protection organisations can highlight the needs and difficulties experienced by product users.
Who participates in the ICPHSO community?
ICPHSO brings together professionals involved throughout a product’s life cycle, from its development to its use by consumers.
These include government and regulatory authorities, which contribute experience in developing and enforcing safety requirements, checking products and addressing risks identified on the market.
Manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers bring perspectives on design, sourcing, production and sales. Their involvement supports discussions about how safety requirements can be integrated into companies’ everyday activities.
Testing and certification laboratories, together with standards specialists, contribute technical expertise in product assessment, hazard identification and testing methods.
The community also includes consumer protection organisations, alongside lawyers, consultants, researchers and representatives of academia. This diversity supports the examination of product safety from technical, legal, economic and social perspectives.
Symposiums and meetings dedicated to product safety
One of ICPHSO’s main activities is organising symposiums and professional events dedicated to consumer product safety.
These meetings give participants opportunities to attend thematic sessions, examine practical cases and speak directly with specialists from other countries and sectors. Through this exchange, a problem identified in one market can inform improvements to practices elsewhere.
Topics may include risk assessment, market surveillance, product compliance, the responsibilities of businesses, communication with users and the management of recalls involving dangerous products.
The events provide a setting in which technical information and professional experience can be discussed together, with an emphasis on practical application.
Sharing information about emerging risks and technologies
Products and the ways in which they are sold are constantly evolving. Connected devices, e-commerce and the use of artificial intelligence raise new questions about how risks should be assessed and managed.
Against this background, ICPHSO facilitates the exchange of information about emerging challenges and the responses developed by authorities, businesses and specialists.
Discussions may address the physical characteristics of products as well as how they are used, their interaction with digital technologies and consumer behaviour. Particular attention may also be given to vulnerable consumers and the ways in which children use products.
Another area of interest is the effectiveness of product recalls. Identifying a risk needs to be followed by communicating relevant information to users and taking measures that help reduce their exposure to the hazard.
Education and professional development
ICPHSO’s activities include an educational component that supports the development of knowledge among product safety professionals.
Through presentations, workshops and exchanges of experience, participants can develop a better understanding of risk assessment methods, surveillance practices and the challenges encountered in different jurisdictions.
Continuous learning matters because product safety depends on a series of decisions: selecting materials, designing and testing products, preparing instructions for use, controlling production and monitoring problems that emerge after products reach the market.
Professional dialogue helps participants consider how these stages relate to one another and how experience gained in one area can inform decisions in another.
ICPHSO 2026 International Symposium in Brussels
An example of the organisation’s work is the ICPHSO 2026 International Symposium, taking place on 9–10 September 2026 at the Charlemagne Building in Brussels, in partnership with the European Commission and in conjunction with International Product Safety Week 2026.
The symposium’s theme, “Advancing a Global Baseline for Product Safety,” focuses on progressing towards a shared global foundation for product safety.
The programme includes discussions about the United Nations Principles for Consumer Product Safety, accessibility, e-commerce, the use of artificial intelligence to identify unsafe products online, and cooperation in enforcement. These topics are reflected in the symposium agenda.
Sorin Mierlea, President of InfoCons, is attending the events in Brussels, contributing to the representation of consumers’ interests in international discussions.
Why does this cooperation matter to consumers?
For consumers, cooperation in product safety matters because it supports the ability of those involved to prevent risks, identify problems and communicate useful information.
A product may be manufactured in one country, sold through a platform based in another and used across numerous markets. Exchanging experience and working together helps professionals address problems that extend beyond the borders of a single country.
The involvement of consumer protection organisations also helps keep users’ experiences within these discussions. Understanding how people choose, use and respond to information about products is relevant to developing practical approaches to safety.
Through its international forum, ICPHSO supports dialogue between authorities, businesses, specialists and consumer protection organisations, bringing their different areas of expertise together around the shared objective of safer consumer products.