Hong Kong Amends Safety Standards for Toys and Certain Children’s Products

HONG KONG, China - Feb. 26, 2015 - PRLog -- In November 2014, Hong Kong sought comments from the public on its intention to adopt the latest safety standards for toys and 8 categories of children’s products under the Toys and Children’s Products Safety Ordinance (Chapter 424) (1).

Hong Kong Toy Safety Regulations

On 23 January 2015, the Toys and Children’s Products Safety Ordinance (Amendment of Schedules 1 and 2) Notice 2015 was published in the Hong Kong Government Gazette to update the safety standards for toys and certain children’s products (2). It is interesting to note that the European Union (EU) has recently retained EN 1400 Parts 1-3:2002 for ‘Soothers for Babies and Young Children’ for demonstration of compliance under the General Product Safety Directive 2001/95/EC (GPSD) whereas Hong Kong has adopted the EN 1400:2013+A1:2014 version (Item 2, Table 1) (3). The new law will be enforced on 1 October 2015.

Amended Toy Safety Standards

Highlights of the existing and updated standards for toys and children’s products are summarized in a table within the latest SafeGuards bulletin (http://newsletter.sgs.com/eNewsletterPro/uploadedimages/0...).

References:

1. SGS SafeGuards #195/14, November 2014 (http://newsletter.sgs.com/eNewsletterPro/uploadedimages/0...)
2. Press Release (http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201501/21/P20150121055...), HK Government, 21 January 2015
HK Government Gazette, No. 4 Vol. 19 (http://www.gld.gov.hk/egazette/pdf/20151904/es22015190417.pdf) - Legal Supplement No. 2, 23 January 2015
Commission Communication 2015/C 014/03, 16 January 2015
3. SGS SafeGuards #018/15, January 2015 (http://newsletter.sgs.com/eNewsletterPro/uploadedimages/000006/sgs-safeguards-01815-eu-updates-standards-product-safety-directive-a4-en-15.pdf)

About SGS Safety Services for Toys and Juvenile Products

Throughout a global network of laboratories, SGS can provide a range of services, including analytical testing, inspection (http://www.sgs.com/en/Consumer-Goods-Retail/Toys-and-Juvenile-Products/Juvenile-Products-and-Childcare-Articles/Inspection-Services.aspx) and consultancy for toys and children’s products for Hong Kong and international markets.

Please do not hesitate to contact the SGS experts for further information.

Contact details:

SGS Consumer Testing Services
Hingwo Tsang, Ph.D.
CTS Toys and Juvenile Products
Information and Innovation Manager
SGS Hong Kong Limited
5/F, 8/F, Manhattan Centre, 8
Hong Kong

Website: www.sgs.com/toys

SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. SGS is recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. With more than 80,000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 1,650 offices and laboratories around the world.