References to European standards complying with the general safety requirements of the General Product Safety Directive 2001/95/EC (GPSD) provide a presumption of safety for products. It must be pointed out that the current standards for childcare articles other than toys are based on the 1997 mandate, which is an outdated document. For this reason, the Commission aims at updating these safety requirements. For this reason, the Commission has issued a draft decision laying down the basis for the request to the standardisation bodies to prepare new and updated standards. The feedback period was closed on September 2nd, 2022.
Which products are covered under this Decision?
The draft decision lists in its Article 1 the products which fall under its scope, namely:
- children’s products intended to be worn by children;
- children’s products intended to facilitate or protect the seating function, sleeping function, bathing function, body care, relaxation, transportation and early learning;
- children’s products intended to facilitate the feeding, drinking or sucking of children;
- children’s products that offer one or several functions listed in points (a), (b) and (c) and one or several other functions;
- products related to children’s products, including the following products:
– products and accessories specifically designed for use with children’s products referred to in points (a)to (d) or in combination with those products;
– products to be used and mounted or installed by adults which are accessible to a child or offer a protective function to a child.
In addition, an Annex to the Commission Decision on the safety requirements under GPSD was drafted. The Annex sets out safety requirements to be met by European standards for children’s products and related products referred to in Article 1 of the Decision.
How standards ensure safety and compliance
It is necessary that children’s products maintain their safety and safety characteristics during their foreseeable lifetime. For this reason, they shall be designed and manufactured in such a way that any hazards associated with continued use are reduced.
Standards drafted at a later stage compared to the Commission standardisation requests based on these safety requirements must consider the latest anthropometric data, medical research, known health advice concerning child safety and state-of the-art scientific and technical knowledge regarding children’s safety and/or health.
Are you interested in knowing more about the General Product Safety Directive and its standards? Do not hesitate to contact us!
Federica Russo
Regulatory Affairs department
19/09/2022
References
European Commission (2022). Safety of children’s products (excluding toys). Retrieved on 16/09/2022
European Commission (2022). Draft decision.Retrieved on 16/09/2022
European Commission (2022). Annex.Retrieved on 16/09/2022.
EUR-Lex (3 December, 2001). Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 December 2001 on general product safety. Retrieved on 19/09/2022