Most professional safety helmets tested in an EU-funded campaign met key safety requirements, but around one in three failed and some were classed as high or serious risk, according to new results from the European Commission.
Market surveillance authorities tested 65 industrial safety helmets — designed to protect workers in high-risk workplaces — and found that 46 samples (71%) met requirements while 19 (29%) did not, the Commission said in a release on Tuesday. Most failures were linked to shock absorption.
The helmets were checked for shock absorption, resistance to penetration, flame resistance, chinstrap anchorage, and whether markings and labels remained durable.
Some tests were carried out after the helmets had been exposed to temperature extremes, water submersion and ageing under UV light.
Authorities in eight countries — Belgium, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden — took the samples from online sellers and physical shops.
Withdrawals, recalls and sales bans
Eight of the failed helmets were assessed as a serious risk and four as a high risk, the Commission said.
Authorities withdrew six products from the market, recalled two from consumers and imposed a sales ban on one product, it added, with other corrective measures ongoing.
Eight products were listed on Safety Gate — the EU rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products — while 39 were registered in the EU’s market surveillance information system, known as ICSMS.
The testing was carried out as part of the 2025 Joint Actions on Compliance of Products (JACOP), a programme coordinated and funded by the European Commission that supports national market surveillance authorities in checking whether products on sale comply with EU rules.
“Market surveillance campaigns help to protect businesses from unfair competition and ensure that products sold on the single market keep those who use them safe,” said Vanessa Capurso, a policy officer in the Commission’s Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs.
