Jan. 16 US: New Consumer Product Safety Rules for Testing and Certification of Children Products

This news article is brought to you by Foley and Lardner LLP – Legal News.

On February 8, 2013, new requirements pertaining to product testing and certification for children’s products go into effect.

Periodic Testing of Children’s Products. Such testing must be performed on a periodic basis by third-party testing laboratories approved by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The required interval for testing is one to three years, depending on whether the manufacturer has a periodic testing plan, has a production testing plan, or conducts continued testing using an appropriately accredited laboratory. However, if a product undergoes a “material change,” the product must be retested sooner.

Documentation. Documentation of such testing (including the sampling procedures and the basis for inferring compliance during the periodic-testing interval) must be retained for at least five years.

These changes are intended to implement section 102(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which was enacted in 2008. The CPSIA, which is enforced by the CPSC, amends the Consumer Product Safety Act by, among other things, setting new testing and certification requirements for many products.

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