Product Basics

Contents

1. What Is a Product? — Defines the scope of products our wiki covers, and how regulators draw the line between goods and services.
2. Anatomy of a Product — Materials, Parts and Parameters — What products are made of (materials, states, structures), the parameters they carry (weight, dimensions, power, IP rating, color, lifecycle) and what to look for on the packaging.
3. Product Identifiers — How specific products are distinguished from each other: GTIN/EAN/UPC, ISBN, CAS, PCP, NPN, EPA Registration Number, FCC ID, UDI, NDC.
4. Product Categories — How regulators classify products: food, cosmetic, supplement, medical device, electronic equipment, pesticide, toy, vehicle, chemical mixture, textile.
5. Who Regulates Products — The agencies that publish the registries, recalls and labeling rules we cite: FDA, USDA, EPA, CPSC, FCC, ECHA, EUDAMED, EFSA, RAPEX, Health Canada, CFIA, PMRA and more.
6. Global Product-Quality Watchdogs — A worldwide atlas of agencies that test, certify, recall and standardise consumer products — beyond US/EU/Canada into MENA, sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, SE Asia, LATAM, Pacific, plus international bodies (WHO, Codex, ISO, IEC, OECD).
7. Regulations by Category — Where the Law Lives — Per product category × jurisdiction lookup to the primary statute, regulation or directive that governs it. Food / cosmetic / toy / supplement / medical device / pesticide / chemical / textile / electronics / vehicle / packaging / ecodesign + horizontal general product safety. Direct links to EUR-Lex, US CFR/USC, UK Statutory Instruments, Health Canada Acts and equivalents in CN/IN/BR/AU/JP/KR.
8. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Registries — Who pays for post-consumer take-back of packaging, batteries, electronics, tyres, vehicles, textiles, oil and paint — by jurisdiction. Links to the national + scheme-level EPR registries where producers must register before placing products on market.
9. Mandatory Product Registries — Which products legally must be registered with a public registry before they can be sold.
10. Labeling Requirements — What must be printed on a product or its packaging: GHS pictograms, allergen warnings, country of origin, energy labels, CE mark, age ratings, ingredient lists.
11. Legal Information on Products — Conformity declarations, manufacturer details, warranty disclosures, safety statements and the laws that compel them.