Eurofins Toys & Hardlines Monthly Bulletin (August 2021)
EUROPE
New requirements for artificial sports pitches and playgrounds
On 21 July 2021, the European Commission published the following regulation on the restriction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in artificial sports pitches and playgrounds:
New General Product Safety regulation draws closer
The European Commission is working on the update of the General Product Safety Regulation. The table below summarises the recent proposal and drafts related to this matter:
Perfluorinated carboxylic acids restricted under REACH Annex XVII Entry 68
On 5August 2021, the European Union (EU) published Regulation (EU) No 2021/1297, which updated Annex XVII of REACH. Certain perfluorocarboxylic acids (C9-C14 PFCAs), their salts and C9-C14 PFCA-related substances will be banned from being placed on the market or used in most applications from 25 February 2023 onwards.
Please see the following table summarising the most recent standards updates and upcoming dates of withdrawal (non-exhaustive):
Please find a table summarising recent technical publications (non-exhaustive):
FRANCE
Updated standards list for the use of childcare articles
On 18 July 2021, the Opinion on the application of decree n ° 91-1292 of December 20, 1991 relating to the prevention of risks resulting from the use of childcare articles was published.
UK
UK Government extends UKCA marking deadline
On 24 August 2021, the UK government announced that businesses have been given an additional year to apply the UKCA marking to their products, businesses now have until 1 January 2023 to apply the UKCA marking to their products.
SWITZERLAND
Alignment of the Swiss toy requirements with the European Legislation
On 8 July 2021, the Ordinance of the Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA) on the Safety of Toys (Toys Ordinance, RS 817.023.11; German, French and Italian versions) was amended by the Swiss Official Collection 2021 425 (German, French and Italian versions).
US
CPSC Approves New Rule 16 CFR 1236 Safety Standard for Infant Sleep Products
In June 2021, the Eurofins monthly bulletin informed you that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) approved a new 16 CFR 1236 Safety Standard for Infant Sleep Products. The rule has been published in the Federal Register, and will come into effect 23 June 2022, 12 months from date of publication in the Federal Register.
Oregon Passes HB3379 into Law - Prohibiting Crib Bumper Pad
Recently, the governor of Oregon signed HB3379 into law, which is an amendment to the Oregon Revised Statute, ORS 646A.504 and 646A.506, to prohibit the sale and use of crib bumper pads in the state.
The table below summarises some recent ASTM standards updates:
AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND
Mandatory requirements for projectile toys
On 29 July 2021, The Consumer Goods (Projectile Toys) Safety Standard 2020 was amended to incorporate updates recently made to the voluntary Australian/New Zealand and International standards on which it is based.
BRAZIL
New requirements for toys and childcare products
In July 2021, Inmetro (Brazil’s Ministry of Economy/National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology) published the following Ordinances related to Childcare products.
INTERNATIONAL
Regulatory proposals notified to WTO
Table summarising the most recent notifications made by the World Trade Organization (WTO) (non-exhaustive).
The following table summarises some recent international regulation news.
Below you will find a monthly table summarising product recalls and alerts in Europe (Source “RAPEX” and “RASFF”) and the U.S. (Source “CPSC”)
Europe
The following 70 alerts regarding Childcare articles, equipment and toys were reported, between week 25 and week 31 of 2021.
US
From 21 June 2021 to 20 August of 2021, CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) published the following recalls.