An analysis of the product safety act, food safety act, and medicines act and their inter-play as a tool in consumer protection

Abstract

The safety of products, foods and medicines has throughout the past two centuries featured as one of the main areas which needed to be tackled in order to provide a safe final outcome for the consumer. Throughout the years, as much of the world, Malta experienced a shift from the production of household goods being produced at home (like vegetables and poultry products) to firms specialised in the mass production of such daily needs. This social movement, enhanced through the Industrial Revolution, brought about the necessity ofregulation as a means to achieve better protection for the consumer. In Malta, within a relatively short period of time (2001 - 2003), there was the enactment of three important laws, which form the subject matter of this thesis, primarily in view of consumer protection and the highest level of safety of food, products and medicine. These laws are the Product Safety Act, the Food Safety Act and the Medicines Act. The following study takes into account these special laws in the field of consumer protection. It evaluates the inter-relation between them and focuses on the effectiveness and efficiency achieved. Particular attention is given to the European dimension and how the European Union influenced the situation in Malta. A concrete analysis of the entire framework established and the remedies available to the consumer follows, leading to the concluding remarks.