ICPHSO (International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization is now accepting proposals for sessions at its 2026 International Symposium in Brussels, Belgium held September 9-10, 2026.

Whether you are a manufacturer, retailer, distributor, consumer, consumer or parent advocate, regulator, NGO, academia, consultant, test laboratory, lawyer, service provider, or other product safety stakeholder, we invite you to submit proposals.

Possible Themes

The theme of this year's International Symposium is "Advancing a Global Baseline for Product Safety". In a landmark development, the United Nations General Assembly recently adopted the first-ever UN Principles for Consumer Product Safety, affirming the right of all consumers to safe, non-hazardous products — whether sold online or offline. The Principles emphasize businesses' primary responsibility across the entire product lifecycle and seek to empower public authorities to assess risks, order recalls, remove unsafe listings, and share safety alerts across borders, all within a flexible, non-trade-restrictive framework aligned with sustainability goals. Building on this historic milestone, this year's ICPHSO International Symposium will bring these Principles to life by exploring practical approaches to advancing product safety for consumers worldwide.

We encourage proposals which relate to this topic and are aligned with the key subject areas covered by the Principles, which are:

• General principles for the safety of products on the market
• Product safety regulation and standards
• Responsibilities of relevant authorities responsible for product safety
• Product risk identification
• Risk assessment and management
• Corrective measures
• Information to consumers by relevant authorities responsible for product safety and by businesses
• Cooperation between businesses and relevant authorities responsible for product safety
• International cooperation

We also welcome other fresh, creative ideas relevant to the theme of “Advancing a Global Baseline for Product Safety”.

In addition, we continue to be interested in sessions on other topics to ensure that the program is of broad interest and use to all attendees.

To help you, we have set out proposal instructions in a downloadable document:

• Format of sessions
• Proposal requirements, guidelines, and the selection process
• How to make your submission
• Timelines and what to do if you have any questions.

Please review the proposal instructions prior to making a submission.

Call for Proposals Guidelines & Instructions Submit Proposal

Applications open for 2026 International Product Safety Week Student Mentorship Programme
7-10 September 2026, Brussels

The European Commission and the International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization (ICPHSO) are pleased to announce that applications are now open for the 2026 International Product Safety Week Student Mentorship Programme.

The programme aims to attract motivated and talented students to the consumer product safety field. It provides a structured, tailored and comprehensive programme, to give a holistic introduction to product safety. The student mentorship programme runs alongside and complements the official programme for the International Product Safety Week.

What does the mentorship programme offer?

Successful applicants will be part of a small, selective cohort of exceptional students that will participate in a tailored programme designed specifically by the European Commission and ICPHSO for the students. Some of the highlights of the programme include:

• Attend in-person the International Product Safety Week (IPSW), from 7-10 September 2026 in Brussels. This includes sessions organised by the European Commission and the International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization International Symposium.
• Pairing with an experienced mentor¹ to provide personalised guidance, support and knowledge transfer on product safety, before, during and after the IPSW.
• Networking opportunities with a broad range of product safety experts from all around the world, including national authorities, international regulators, consumer organisations, economic operators, law firms, test laboratories, researchers and more as part of conference networking and mentoring-programme specific events.
• Ramp up webinars delivered by well-regarded product safety experts on product safety, related business skills and the discussions during the IPSW.
• Opportunity to organise and take part in group team learning tasks, like joint activities with other mentees at a dedicated exhibitor booth, focusing for example on your research on pertinent and potentially novel issues in product safety to a large, international audience.
  
  

What is expected from the mentees before, during and after the IPSW?

• Participation in all meetings during and surrounding the IPSW, including preparatory meetings with mentors and ramp up meetings, in person participation at the IPSW from 7- 10 September, as well as Post-IPSW sessions to debrief on the in-person events and programme.
• Active dissemination of product safety knowledge and mentorship experience of the IPSW through professional/academic channels such as social media, university presentations, or workshops. Participants will be required to draft and submit a short activity report.
  

The organisers will arrange for the mentees’ travel and accommodation in Brussels and will provide them with an additional stipend (EUR 200) covering transport and food expenses during the conference, to the extent there are additional food/travel costs outside those already provided to conference participants as part of the conference.

Who can apply?

The Programme is open to full-time students:

• Based in the European Economic Area (the 27 EU Member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway)²

• At any stage of their academic education:
  • Bachelor students (provided they have completed at least one full academic year by the start of the conference, i.e. 7-10 September 2026)
  • Master students
  • PhD students
• Studying any academic discipline (e.g. law, data science, engineering, business and marketing, communication studies, sociology, information technology, medicine etc.), provided they are interested in consumer product safety. Please note, given the focus of IPSW and the participants in it, we are unfortunately unable to accommodate students with singular focuses on medical devices and food safety at this stage.
  

Special attention will be given to inclusivity, equity and diversity ensuring a broad representation of students.

How to apply?
The countdown has started: interested students should apply here by 26 April.

The application process will require the following:

• Completion of the online form, in which students will need to provide their academic and extracurricular background, their future product-safety related career aspirations, their preferences for their paired mentor as well as explaining their relationship to product safety and their motivation for applying.
• If shortlisted, attendance at a brief online-interview (between 18 and 21 May) with the selection committee running the programme.

All applicants will be informed of the results of their application at the earliest opportunities during the various stages of the application process above, as follows:

• In respect of their online written application by 11 May
• In respect of one-to-one interview and final acceptance into the programme by 4 June For more information, please contact just-EU-IPSW-MENTORSHIP-PROGRAMME@ec.europa.eu.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

¹Mentors volunteer to participate and are not compensated for their mentorship
²The programme is open to applicants of any nationality but travel can only be arranged from countries of the European Economic Area.

ICPHSO thanks the Product Safety Letter for allowing ICPHSO to make the summary available (https://productsafetyletter.com/Free/10217.aspx). The summary was prepared by staff from Cooley LLP.

The summary, presentations, and posters can be found by viewing this link: https://icphso.org/page/2026AMpresentations

 VIEW PROGRAM - SUBJECT TO CHANGE

 REGISTRATION

 VIEW OUR SPEAKERS

 2026 ANNUAL MEETING & TRAINING SYMPOSIUM INFORMATION PAGE

ICPHSO Mentorship Program
Activities in Orlando: February 22 - 26, 2026
Join the ICPHSO Symposium Mentorship Program Class of 2026

Applications for the 2026 Annual Meeting & Training Symposium Mentorship Program are open!

This year’s program will take place February 22–26, 2026, at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orlando, Florida. Mentees benefit from complimentary participation in ICPHSO' s Annual Meeting & Training Symposium, relief from certain associated travel and accommodation costs and a range of other program-specific learning and networking opportunities.

If you're interested in participating, be sure to submit your application no later than December 5, 2025.

We look forward to welcoming a new cohort of mentees and mentors for an engaging, educational, and inspiring experience!

Application for Mentors

APPLY FOR MENTOR SLOT

Application for Mentees

APPLY FOR MENTEE SLOT

Registration Open (Early Bird Member Registration Deadline: December 31, 2025)

REGISTRATION

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Who Are We?

We are a group of professionals who are passionate about making consumer products around the world safer. Founded in 1993, ICPHSO gathers the most influential people in product safety to learn, network, and share information. Our membership is composed of the largest manufacturers in the world, the largest retailers in the world, law firms, global regulators, testing labs, design firms, consultants, consumer advocates, and more. We work together to solve the biggest challenges in product safety, covering 1000s of product categories from children’s toys to furniture to appliances.

Why Attend?

ICPHSO’s Annual Symposium is a great place to learn about a rewarding possible career path, build connections in the consumer products industry, and get a comprehensive crash course into product safety management. The event features expert led sessions on international trends and developments in product health and safety, discussions around best practices, and ample time for networking with the 800+ attendees from a wide range of companies. The mentorship program offers additional opportunities to learn and meet others, helping mentees to achieve their goals for the event.

Who Should Apply?

If you are a junior or senior undergraduate, graduate, advanced degree, JD, PhD, or other impressive letter filled distinction, and have an interest in consumer products, apply! Successful applicants interested in consumer product safety may have backgrounds in the following: product design, engineering, manufacturing, policy, sociology, law, business, supply chain, statistics, logistics, human factors, medicine, epidemiology and more!

Benefits

Travel and Hotel Included

Direct Mentorship from Industry Professionals

Expert Panel Discussions

Career Center Networking

Virtual Professional Networking Beyond

Stipend for Food/Activities

Access to Symposium Materials & Resources Beyond

The Mentorship Program Initiative is made possible through generous support from Amazon, Google, Intertek and ICPHSO

2025 ICPHSO International Symposium – 
Adapting to Change: Exploring the Future of Product Safety 

 
By Rod Freeman rfreeman@cooley.com and Tracey Bischofberger tbischofberger@cooley.com  
 
The International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization (ICPHSO) held its 2025 International Symposium on 14 and 15 October 2025, in cooperation with the UK Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS). The theme for this year’s international symposium was “Adapting to Change: Exploring the Future of Product Safety”.  
 
This year’s international symposium was held in London with a record attendance of nearly 370 delegates from more than 30 countries – including representatives of regulators, manufacturers, retailers, online marketplaces, testing laboratories, consumer organisations, law firms, standards organisations and academia. Cooley’s Rod Freeman, vice president of ICPHSO, served as the planning chair for the program, working alongside the planning committee of volunteer ICPHSO members. 
 
Sarah Smith, deputy chief executive at the OPSS, opened the conference, providing a snapshot of product safety opportunities, as well as the challenges OPSS is seeing. We heard about the recently passed Product Regulation and Metrology Act (PRAM Act), a framework piece of legislation that gives the UK government powers to reform UK product safety laws via secondary legislation and represents one of the biggest product safety legislative reforms in the UK in the last 40 years. A consultation on using these new powers is expected before the end of the year. We also heard about OPSS’s continued focus on online marketplaces, new technologies (in consumer products, those used for compliance, e.g. by online marketplaces, and how the civil service can use artificial intelligence), and the broader priority of the UK government to simplify and reduce administrative burdens for businesses.  
 
The first keynote was a fireside chat with former US Attorney General Eric Holder. This discussion offered insights into how companies can strengthen trust and resilience while navigating fast-evolving global product safety and compliance obligations. Key takeaways included the importance of a truly effective compliance program, being aware of legal requirements and building relationships with regulators in other jurisdictions, and the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion. 
 
Arnau Izaguerri Vila, legal officer at UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), also delivered a keynote focusing on UNCTAD’s work, including the recently adopted UN Principles for Consumer Product Safety that will now go before the UN General Assembly in December 2025. This is the first globally agreed framework for product safety and an important step to improve product safety for consumers worldwide.  
 
The “Global Regulator Update” featured speakers from the European Commission, OPSS, Health Canada and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), who spoke about their priorities, what has been keeping them busy and what gives them hope for the future. Some common themes emerged, including a continued focus on online marketplaces, lithium-ion batteries (particularly for e-bikes), and button and coin cell batteries, as well as priorities to promote competitiveness and growth within their respective economies. We also heard that the guidance on the European Union General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) has been translated and may be published in the next month.   
 
The first plenary, “AI-Improving Compliance from Differing Lenses”, featured perspectives from academia, testing and a regulator. We heard about the possibilities of using AI to assess potential product safety issues, and how the European Commission is using AI both to search on a greater scale than ever for the online sale of products already covered by safety alerts and to proactively identify new safety trends and issues at an early stage before they escalate.  
 
“Product Safety in Latin America: Regional Challenges, a Call for Focused Attention, and the Urgency of Harmonizing Regulation and Market Surveillance” explored the product safety landscape in Latin America. Despite market challenges, including fragmented regulations, limited enforcement and the widespread presence of informal markets, the panel explored encouraging signs of progress. Regional cooperation is gaining momentum, aiming to raise safety standards while easing compliance for businesses. The panel highlighted that these efforts are increasingly international, with Latin American regulators drawing on product safety data from other jurisdictions and the EU’s harmonised approach noted as a potential model for future regional alignment in Latin America. 
 
“Regulation Hokey Cokey!”, moderated by Cooley’s Claire Temple, explored the rapid pace of change in the product regulatory landscape, including new regulation, deregulation and simplification. The session noted how it is more challenging for companies than ever before to stay on top of developments. Steps that can be taken include horizon-spotting, educating internal stakeholders and creating contingency plans in anticipation of change.  
 
In “Market-Driven Sustainability: Ensuring Product Safety in a Circular Economy”, we heard how industry continues to drive a shift to more sustainable products. However, improving sustainability without considering product safety can create risks for consumers. The panel shared how suppliers, standards bodies and testing organisations are adapting to new realities – including the rise of third-party remanufacturing and increased use of recycled materials. To manage these changes, they emphasised the importance of increased testing, closer collaboration across supply chains and product chains of custody. 
 
“Navigating Obligations Under the New Packaging Regulation” explored new rules coming into application across the EU. We heard about the shift to a full life cycle approach, examples of steps companies can take to achieve compliance and the requirements that are most challenging for different actors. 
 
“Disruption: Maintaining Safety and Compliance When Geopolitics Disrupt Your Supply Chains” explored how disruptions to supply chains can affect businesses and ways to maintain product safety and compliance. One key takeaway was the importance of stress-testing continuity plans. 
 
“Collaborative Solutions for Ensuring Product Safety in Third-Party Online Marketplaces”, led by Consumer Reports, brought together representatives from Which?, Amazon and OPSS. The panel discussed ways they have engaged in collaborative dialogue to develop innovative strategies for enhancing consumer protection in the evolving digital marketplace. 
 
“Intersection of Consumer Product Safety and Mental Health” explored the topical issue of mental health following reforms made by the EU GPSR. One takeaway was the data gap that currently exists on the prevalence of mental health harms. A representative from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) took attendees through some of the findings from a study on products that incorporate digital aspects, including mental health considerations not yet published.  
 
The conference also featured shorter, rapid-style sessions covering risk assessments under the EU’s new GPSR, the digital safety landscape, a guide to button battery standards worldwide, data-driven sustainability and apprehending product safety in the era of the new EU Product Liability Directive. One stand-out rapid session was “The Recall Loophole: How Fraudsters Game the System – and What It Costs Us”, which explored how fraud is reshaping recall dynamics, how this affects consumers, and some of the ways to tackle this issue without putting undue burdens on honest consumers. 
 
One important role ICPHSO plays is to train and mentor the next generation of product safety professionals. At the end of the conference, we heard from the students who took part in the International Student Mentorship Program, who shared how they found the event. 
  
This year’s event was also held in collaboration with the UK charity Electrical Safety First (ESF). Many attendees stayed on to attend ESF’s annual Electrical Product Safety Conference 2025, which followed on 16 October at the same venue.  
 
ICPHSO is an international, neutral forum for product safety stakeholders to learn, network and share information. It typically hosts three types of events each year – an annual symposium in the US, an annual international symposium outside the US and regional training workshops based in North America. The next ICPHSO in-person event will be the 2026 Annual Meeting and Training Symposium taking place February 23 – 26, 2026, in Orlando, Florida. Visit the ICPHSO website for more information.