Eurofins | Newsflash - January 2018 | Toys & Childcare
US
New York´s Suffolk County´s Toxic Free Toys Act
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The Local Law Nº 22-2015 about toxic free toys from Suffolk County was been filed in the office of the Secretary of New York State as Local Law Nº 26 of 2017 (“A Local Law to Amend the Toxic Free Toys Act”). It is effective from 6th November 2017. |
Click here for getting the official publication.
US
Children's Folding Chairs and Stools Final Rule Published
On December 15, 2017, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a safety standard in the FEDERAL REGISTER for children's folding chairs and stools in response to the direction under Section 104(b) of the CPSIA.
This final rule, includes several amendments:
- Incorporates by reference the most recent voluntary standard for children's folding chairs and stools ASTM F2613-17a (as published in our last Eurofins News Flash Edition Nº EfCPT-N-2017036);
- Amends 16 CFR 1112 by adding safety standard for children's folding chairs and stools in the list of notice of requirements (NORs) regarding third party conformity assessment bodies;
- Amends 16 CFR 1130 to identify children's folding stools including children's folding chairs as a durable infant or toddler product for purposes of consumer product registration requirements.
The rule will come into effect on June 15, 2018. Details can be found here.
US
US CPSC Approves ASTM F963 to Become Mandatory
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On December 4, 2017, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) published a direct final rule to approve ASTM F963-17 to become the mandatory toy safety standard, with an exception of exemption for push/pull toys. Comparing to ASTM F963-16, ASTM F963-17 new version added the following sentence relating to sound-producing toys in Section 8.20.1.5(5).: ”The toys described in this section do not include push/pull toys as defined in 3.1.68. The scope of requirements for push/pull toys are given in 4.5(7).” |
This additional sentence in the new ASTM version to the sound-producing toys test method in Section 8.20.1.5(5) exempts pull/push toys from the LAFmax requirement (which is a measurement of continuous sound)
However, the Commission stated that this exemption will reduce safety because such toys would be on the market even if their continuous sound level is greater than the standard permits for other floor toys. Hence, Commission concludes that the LAFmax exemption has a negative impact on safety and, additionally, reduces harmonization with European EN 71 Standard.
Therefore, the Commission accepts all changes in ASTM F963-17, with the exception of the above mentioned text addition in Section 8.20.1.5(5) (which should not be allowed to become part of CPSC’s mandatory toy standard)
This rule will come into effect on February 28, 2018, unless the Commission receives significant adverse comments by January 3, 2018.
Details can be found here.
Hong Kong
Update Safety Standards
Last December, the Hong Kong Government proposed updates to safety standards for toys and children care products listed in Schedule 2 (“Schedule 2 products”) under the Toys and Children’s Products Safety Ordinance (Cap. 424) (“the Ordinance”).
Click here for getting the official publication in English.
Australia
Baby Bath Aids Safety Standard
The Australian Government published the Consumer Goods (Baby Bath Aids) Safety Standard 2017.
From 27th October 2018 the baby bath aid shall wear the following warning statement:
And shall comply with the requirements in the US standards (F1967‑13 Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Infant Bath Seats) Clause 7.3 Permanence of Labels and Warnings
For transition period (Before 27th October 2018) this products may comply with:
- Consumer Goods (Baby Bath Aids) Safety Standard 2017; or
- Trade Practices (Consumer Product Safety Standard) (Baby Bath Aids) Regulations 2005
Click here for getting the official publication.
