European Product Recalls Remain Elevated as Sustained Activity Reshapes the Risk Landscape

Sedgwick’s latest European Product Safety and Recall Index shows the second-highest half-year event total on record with 7,115 recalls in H1 2026

LONDON – European product recalls remained at historically high levels in the first half of 2026, with 7,115 events recorded across the region, according to Sedgwick’s latest European Product Safety and Recall Index report. That total is the second-highest half-year figure on record and the third consecutive year in which first-half recall activity has exceeded 7,000 events. This comes despite a 7.9% easing from the 7,729 events recorded in H1 2025.

The latest figures point to a European product safety environment in which elevated recall activity is becoming the norm, not the exception. Regulators’ growing vigilance and readiness to act when consumer safety is at stake as it continues to reshape the risk landscape for manufacturers, suppliers, and retailers.

Sedgwick’s European Product Safety and Recall Index gives manufacturers, suppliers, and retailers a clear view of recall activity and regulatory change across the UK and EU automotive, consumer products, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and medical device industries. The report helps organisations identify emerging risks before they become crises.

The overall total masks a more complicated picture across individual sectors. Two of the five categories and two of the three sub-categories that Sedgwick monitors posted higher recall totals in H1 2026 than in H1 2025. Automotive led with a 13.2% rise, followed by food and beverage, toys, and electronics, which increased by 7.6%, 5.9%, and 3.1%, respectively.

Medical devices, pharmaceuticals, clothing, and overall consumer products all recorded fewer recalls than in the first half of 2025. Clothing saw the steepest percentage decline, falling 47.9% to mark the lowest half-year total since H1 2020. Overall consumer products, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices declined by 25.0%, 13.2%, and 6.3%, respectively.

Beyond the numbers, Sedgwick’s latest report examines regulatory developments shaping supply chains and business operations through the rest of 2026. Trade agreements were a major theme in the first half of the year. The EU set new steel tariffs and signed deals with the U.S. and Australia covering a wide range of goods. The UK and U.S. finalised a pharmaceutical pricing agreement.

UK regulators are also advancing updates to product safety rules and market surveillance. The proposed framework would modernise requirements to reflect e-commerce and online shopping, among other changes. The revisions would largely parallel updates the EU made to its product safety regime last year.

Transparency remains a priority as European lawmakers introduce new food labelling obligations and set clearer expectations for Notified Bodies so medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturers can better understand conformity assessment costs and timelines. Scrutiny of advertising claims is rising as well, with regulators focused on promotions that may mislead consumers.

“A 7.9% drop in European recalls in the first half of the year may look like relief, but it is not a green light,” said Chris Occleshaw, International Product Recall Consultant at Sedgwick. “Automotive, food and beverage, toys, and electronics all posted higher H1 totals, and regulators are rewriting the rules around product safety, trade, labelling, and conformity assessment at the same time. Companies that treat a softer overall number as lower risk will be caught off guard. Now is the moment to stress-test recall plans, strengthen supply chain visibility, and make sure crisis communications can keep pace with a market that is still moving quickly.”

To download the latest European Index report, click here.

The Sedgwick European Product Safety and Recall Index is published every quarter. It is the only report that aggregates and tracks recall data across the EU and UK to help industry stakeholders respond to the regulatory environment, product recalls, and other in-market challenges. For more information, visit https://www.sedgwick.com/product-recall.

About Sedgwick 

Sedgwick is the world’s leading risk and claims administration partner, helping clients thrive by navigating the unexpected. The company’s expertise, combined with the most advanced AI-enabled technology available, sets the standard for solutions in claims administration, loss adjusting, benefits administration and product recall. With over 33,000 colleagues and 10,000 clients across 80 countries, Sedgwick provides unmatched perspective, caring that counts, and solutions for the rapidly changing and complex risk landscape. Sedgwick’s majority shareholder is The Carlyle Group; Stone Point Capital LLC, Altas Partners, CDPQ, Onex and other management investors are minority shareholders. For more, see sedgwick