Counterfeiters target household goods says report

The European Commission has reported a fall in seizures of counterfeit goods by European Union (EU) customs authorities, with the number of articles seized in 2005 standing at 73% of 2004 numbers, although the final 2005 tally was still 75 million. Brussels warned that most fakes are now household items not luxury goods and their high quality often makes identification impossible without technical expertise. Mainland China is the main source, accounting for 64% of all items seized, compared with 5% for Switzerland, 4% the United Arab Emirates, 4% Turkey, and 3% Hong Kong. With the number of seized medicines rising 100% to 560,000 and food/drink products up 118% to 5.2 million, the Commission is increasingly worried about public safety. “A secret wave of dangerous fakes is threatening the people in Europe,” warned EU taxation Commissioner László Kovács. “We must quickly identify, and deal with, new routes of fraud and constantly changing counterfeit patterns.” Seized sportswear counterfeits rose 295% to 3 million; and other clothing 271% to 4.2 million.