Medindia LOGIN REGISTER
Medindia
Advertisement

NSF International Offers Answers to Rising Toy Safety Concerns

Friday, December 5, 2008 General News
Advertisement




NSF Toy Safety Program Offers Manufacturers A Way to Improve Toy Safety by Meeting the Requirements from the New Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act
Advertisement



ANN ARBOR, Mich., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Recent toy recalls continue to generate concerns among consumers about the safety of their children's toys, reinforcing the importance of toy testing. The NSF Toy Safety team offers a solution -- integrated services that include auditing, testing and assessment. This team of toy safety experts is available to answer questions about toy safety.
Advertisement



(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070816/DCTH039LOGO)



WHAT: To help assure that safer toys are making their way to U.S. consumers, lawmakers introduced the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which was signed into law on August 14, 2008 by President Bush. The new act includes requirements for lead and a ban on certain phthalates in products designed for children 12 and younger. It also requires mandatory third-party testing and labeling requirements for all toys and children's products sold in the U.S. NSF International can perform testing required by the new legislation to assist toy manufacturers in meeting the CPSIA requirements.



WHY: Recalls of products intended for children continue to be alarming. Children's products, including toys, nursery products and clothing, accounted for two-thirds (nearly 29 million) of all products being recalled from 2007-08. More recalls were issued for lead than for any other hazard. In fact, there were 121 recalls announced for more than 12.2 million lead-laden products. Almost all of the lead recalls were for toys and other products intended for children.(1)



WHEN: The CPSIA will incorporate increasing levels of regulation with the first deadline regarding lead in paint and surface coatings set for December 21, 2008. Several other requirements for toys will take affect in 2009 when third party testing will be required for assessing lead in the substrate material, phthalates, physical, and mechanical testing.



WHO: By law, all manufacturers who wish to sell toys in the U.S. in 2009 must have their toys tested by an accredited third-party testing lab. Companies that fail to meet the new requirements are subject to civil and criminal penalties including a $100,000 penalty per violation and up to five years imprisonment.



Background on the NSF Toy Safety Program

The NSF Toy Safety program tests a product and its materials for several aspects of toy safety including heavy metal testing (lead and others), mechanical and physical safety, flammability, chemical composition, phthalate content and electrical safety.



For more information, please contact Dave Parzen, Technical Manager of Toy Safety, at 734.827.6859 or [email protected] or visit www.playsafer.org for more information on the new legislation.



To view the entire news release with photo, please visit http://www.nsf.org/info/press/index.asp?p_id=16385.



(1)Consumers Union's Still Not Safe Report, 12/2/2008 -- report based on the number of product recalls publicly announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission from October 1, 2007 through September 30, 2008.



CONTACT: Greta Houlahan Phone: 734-913-5723 Email: [email protected]

SOURCE NSF International
Sponsored Post and Backlink Submission


Latest Press Release on General News

This site uses cookies to deliver our services.By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Cookie Policy, Privacy Policy, and our Terms of Use  Ok, Got it. Close