Rapex. Never a great name.

Commission offend sensibilities of most ordinary, thinking people.

DG Health and Consumers (DG SANCO) have caused international outcry by naming a public health initiative “RAPEX“.

Dealing with potentially dangerous non-food consumer products, RAPEX, apparently, protects consumers (people who buy and/or use things) from hazards such as choking, chemical burn and electric shock through a series of alerts.

It’s not clear who came up with name, and nobody would go on record, even to say that “it sounded like a good idea”.

These alerts have been around for several years, it seems, although nobody noticed it until today, when the press pack were urged to “Keep Kids Safe with RAPEX”:

After intensive investigation (googling “rapex”), the Berlaymonster can reveal that the name was developed almost simultaneously, in South Africa, by the manufacturer of another consumer protection product, who has since had to change the name of her product to avoid people confusing the two initiatives.

The “RapeX” anti-rape condom sports sharp plastic barbs on the inside of the sheath, to “non-fatally” and “non-lethally” cause inconvenience to perpetrators of sexual assault.

It’s unlikely to be available within the EU, but we’d like to think that if it were, it’s exactly the kind of thing that RAPEX would let us know can be incredibly bad for your health.