GPSR Glossary

Regulation & EU

GPSR – General Product Safety Regulation – Regulation (EU) 2023/988 on general product safety, applicable from 13 December 2024, with stricter product safety requirements.

CE Marking – A marking indicating a product complies with EU harmonisation legislation. Mandatory for many product categories.

Safety Gate (RAPEX) – EU rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products. Authorities and economic operators must report here in relevant cases.

Market Surveillance Authority – National authority monitoring and enforcing compliance with product safety rules.

Economic Operators

Economic Operator – Umbrella term for actors in the supply chain: manufacturer, authorised representative, importer, and distributor. Each has specific obligations under GPSR.

Manufacturer – Any natural or legal person who manufactures a product, or has a product designed/manufactured, and markets it under their name or trademark.

EU Responsible Person – An EU-established economic operator responsible for certain GPSR compliance tasks. Often required for products from non-EU manufacturers.

Importer – Any person established in the EU who places a product from a third country onto the EU market.

Distributor – Any person in the supply chain (other than the manufacturer or importer) who makes a product available on the market. Online stores are typically distributors.

Traceability & Documents

Traceability – Ability to trace a product through all stages of the supply chain. Batch/serial numbers are key elements.

Batch Number – Identifier for a production batch. Enables traceability and targeted recalls.

Serial Number – Unique identifier for an individual product unit. The highest level of traceability.

Declaration of Conformity – Document in which the manufacturer declares that a product meets all applicable requirements.

Technical Documentation – Evidence of product compliance: risk assessments, test reports, design documentation, etc.

Safety & Compliance

Safety Warning – Warnings and instructions for safe use of a product. Must be provided in the language of the country of sale.

Product Recall – Measure to remove a dangerous product from the market and from consumers. GPSR tightens recall obligations.

Technology & App

Metafield – A Shopify data field for storing additional product information. The GPSR app uses metafields for compliance data.

Theme App Extension – Shopify technology to integrate app content into storefront themes. The GPSR widget uses this technology.

Automation Rule – App feature to automatically assign GPSR data based on product properties (vendor, type, collection).

Bulk Editor – App feature to edit many products at once. Saves time for large catalogs.