The objectives of the workshop were to give impetus to the development of safety criteria for consumer products (e.g. in standards) and to establish a collaborative European research programme for developing the relevant test methods and criteria. The first part of the workshop and proceedings dealt with background information (i.e. a hazard-oriented approach to product safety criteria, product safety criteria in Europe, safety science and riskology, and the role of product safety research in developing and implementing product safety regulations in the USA). The second part deals with identification of priority issues: children 0-5, children 6-15, elderly, sports, fire, recreation and do-it-yourself. Part three contains the results of discussion of solutions and research questions and cover the following research fields (normal use and predictable use of products, ergonomics, biomechanics, fire hazards, toxicology, acceptable risk, and product information. The last part contains the conclusions and recommendations.