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The EU's General Product Safety Directive came into force in January and is in place in a number of EU member states.

The Directive is currently the subject of a DTI consultation. If enforced in the UK, new laws could lead to the formation of a watchdog similar to the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

The regulations could seriously damage brands that fail to act responsibly, because governments could for the first time enforce recalls.

Consumers will be given greater access to information on products subject to withdrawal through a dedicated consumer portal.

Currently it is up to companies to decide when to recall a product and how to inform consumers. The changes could lead to the authorities forcing companies to use high-profile ad campaigns to inform the public of recalls.

Existing food product recalls in the UK are covered by the 1990 Food Safety Act, which is enforced by the FSA and local food authorities.

'This is an attempt to bring that kind of regulation to consumer products generally,' warned Rod Freeman, a product liability lawyer and partner at law firm Lovells.

One of the most recent high-profile product recalls was Coca-Cola's bottled water brand Dasani, which in March had to recall 500,000 bottles after discovering higher-than-normal levels of the chemical bromate, which can cause an increased risk of cancer.

In 1990 Perrier withdrew thousands of bottles of its natural mineral water after a small quantity of benzene was found in some samples.