Toys & Childcare | Q4 2020
EN 71-2:2020 Publication
The EN 71-2:2020 European Standard specifies the categories of flammable materials which are prohibited in all toys, and requirements concerning flammability of certain toys when they are subjected to a small source of ignition.
New allergenic substances prohibited on toys
On 15th December 2020, the European Commission published the following amendments related to prohibition and labelling of allergenic fragrances in toys.
Amending Annex I of General Product Safety Directive
On 1st December 2020, the European Commission published the following amendments related to General Product Safety Directive.
Annual work programme for standardisation
On 18th December 2020, The European commission published the following Notice:
The annual Union work programme for European standardisation for 2021
This Commission Notice identifies the European standards and European standardisation deliverables that the Commission intends to request for the year 2021, as well as the specific objectives and policies for these standards and deliverables. Childcare articles are included in this annual work programme.
Please see the below table summarising the most recent standards updates and upcoming dates of withdrawal (non-exhaustive):
(*) Date of withdrawal: latest date by which national standards conflicting with an EN (and HD for CENELEC) have to be withdrawn.
|
CENELEC / CEN |
|||
|
Reference |
Title |
Date of Withdrawal (*) |
Supersedes |
|
Inflatable play equipment - Part 3: Additional safety requirements and test methods for snappies. |
2021-03-31 |
||
|
Child care articles - Part 1: Children's harnesses, reins - Safety requirements and test methods. |
2021-05-31 |
||
|
Child care articles - Part 2: Children's harnesses incorporating backpacks and reins - Safety requirements and test methods. |
2021-05-31 |
||
Please find below a table summarising the most recent technical publications (non-exhaustive):
|
Date |
Entity |
Title |
|
31-08-2020 |
ANSE |
Hand sanitiser: take care to protect young children from accidentally splashing their eyes. |
|
17-09-2020 |
European Commission |
|
|
20-11-2020 |
Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) |
|
|
23-11-2020 |
European Commission |
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EVALUATION of Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the safety of toys (SWD/2020/0287 final). |
Planning beyond the Brexit transition period
For assisting and having information about the Brexit, Eurofins has produced a guide about UKCA Mark & CE Marking Changes to product compliance, certification, testing and market access which should answer many of your questions. Click here to get it.
China released GB Standards relevant to Infant, Textiles & Footwear, FCM and other consumer products
Recently, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and the Standardization Administration of the People’s Republic of China (SAC) published announcement No.22 of 2020 and announcement No. 23 of 2020 (in Chinese) to approve and release a batch of GB standards, which are closely related to our industries.
The below table listed some of these standards (non-exhaustive list):
|
Standard No. |
Standard Name |
Superseded Standard |
Implementation Date |
|
Infant Products |
|||
|
GB 38995-2020 |
Infant feeding bottles and teats. |
Initial |
2021-11-01 |
|
Others |
|||
|
GB/T 39107-2020 |
Determination of volatile organic compounds content for consumer products—Static headspace sampling method. |
Initial |
2020-10-21 |
|
GB/T 39110-2020 |
Consumer product—Plastics—Rapid screening of phthalates. |
Initial |
2020-10-21 |
|
GB/T 39181-2020 |
Consumer products―Polyester fiber and ABS material―Rapid determination method of fragrance allergens. |
Initial |
2020-10-21 |
|
GB/T 39183-2020 |
Determination of the migration quantity of nitrosamines in consumer products—Gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. |
Initial |
2020-10-21 |
Vermont Adopts Amendments of Chemicals of High Concern in Children’s Products Rule
Vermont’s Chemicals of High Concern (CHCC) reporting rule requires manufacturers of children’s products to provide notice to the Department of Health annually if their product contains CHCC above the threshold.
Last 30 October, the state published a proposed rule which expands the definition of formaldehyde to formaldehyde and substances that are intentionally added to release formaldehyde, including following:
- 5-Bromo-5-nitro-1,3-dioxane;
- Bronopol;
- Diazolidinyl urea;
- DMDM hydantoin;
- Imidazolidinyl urea;
- Methanol, (phenylmethoxy);
- Methenamine;
- Quaternium-15;
- Sodium N-(hydroxymethyl)glycinate.
This proposal came into effect on 1 September 2020.
Additionally, the reporting deadline has been changed. Now, manufacturers of children’s products must submit their annual report on or before 31 January 2022, and annually thereafter to the Department. Moreover, manufacturers of children’s products that are introduced for sale or distribution in Vermont between 31 January and 31 July of that year must submit an interim report on or before 31 July of every year.
More information please click here.
The below is a summary of recent CPSC updates (non-exhaustive):
- Notice of Availability of Regulatory Flexibility Act Section 610 Review of the Safety Standards for Full-Size Baby Cribs and Non-Full-Size Baby Cribs (Publication date: 04/09/2020)
- Safety Standard for Crib Mattresses (Publication date: 26/10/2020)
- Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Warning Label Comprehension and Interpretation by Consumers for Children's Sleep Environments (Publication date: 21/12/2020)
See below a table summarising some recent ASTM standards updates:
|
Reference |
Title |
|
Standard Consumer Safety Specification for High Chairs |
Technical publications
Please find below a table summarising the most recent technical publications (non-exhaustive):
|
Date |
State |
Title |
|
26/08/2020 |
Australia |
Consumer Goods (Toys Containing Magnets) Safety Standard 2020 was published. It will come into force with effect from 1 January 2021 and applies to magnetic toys |
|
15/09/2020 |
India |
The Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry published an amendment of Toys (Quality Control) Order, 2020 which indicates the new into force date, 1 January 2021. |
|
29/12/2020 |
Canada |
Health Canada published the following updates: |
