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CPSC Passes Final Rule on Testing and Labeling for Product Certification and Reserves Reasonable Testing Program
CPSC Passes Final Rule on Testing and Labeling for Product Certification and Reserves Reasonable Testing Program
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has passed the final rule for certification and testing for children’s products and placed the Reasonable Testing Program for non-children’s products on reserve. The final rule is intended to address the requirements of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), Section 102 Mandatory Third Party Testing for Children’s Products. The CPSC was required by the law to establish protocols and standards by which a children’s product may be certified. The rule will be effective in January 2013, 15 months after it is published in the Federal Register.
Background of CPSIA Requirements, Section 102 Section 102 of the CPSIA required certification for children’s products as well as non-children’s products with an applicable rule, ban or standard enforced by the CPSC. Non-children’s products must be tested to a reasonable testing program providing a High Degree of Assurance (HDoA) the product is compliant and a general conformity certificate must then be issued indicating compliance with applicable requirements. Children’s products must be tested to all applicable requirements by a CPSC approved, accredited third-party conformity assessment body. Based on this testing the manufacturer must issue a children’s product certificate indicating compliance.
Summary of the Final Rule The Final Rule, which will be published as 16 CFR 1107, provides additional guidance for the testing and certification of children’s products under CPSIA as follows:
The certification program for children’s products requires:
> Third-party testing of sufficient samples for certification with a High Degree of Assurance (HDoA) that the product complies with all requirements.
Note: A one year maximum interval is allowed between third-party periodic testing; two years with first-party production testing; three years if production testing is certified with ISO 17025 to certification methods.
> Samples selected for periodic testing shall be representative of the production lot. The CPSC has indicated future rulemaking will clarify how representative samples are selected.
Note: CPSIA called for random sampling to be used in periodic testing. The word random was changed to representative by H.R. 2715 and is reflected in the final rule.
> Re-certification after any material change. Can be conducted as component part testing, following the Component Part Testing requirements, if appropriate.
Note: The final rule removed specific remedial action plan requirements included in the proposed rule. However, it does require that any non-conformity be reviewed to determine the cause.
> All required documents retained for a five-year period.
Note: Documents do not need to be created in English, and documents do not need to be stored in the US as stated in the proposed rule. However, documents still must be readily available upon request and be able to be translated within 48 hours.
Reasonable Testing Program (RTP) is Reserved While the CPSIA did not require the CPSC to define a Reasonable Testing Program (unlike the program for children’s products which was required), the CPSC decided to define requirements in the proposed rule published in May 2010. The Final Rule, however, reserves the section and does not provide requirements for a RTP. Highlights regarding this decision are as follows:
> A RTP is still required by CPSIA to certify general use/non-children’s products even though requirements have not been defined in the Final Rule. --- The Commissioners reiterated during the webcast that despite the reservation of this section, a manufacturer certifying a non-children’s product must follow a reasonable testing program.
> With the section reserved, the CPSC also has made no changes and no significant comments on the procedures for a RTP.
> The CPSC may decide at a later date to establish requirements for a RTP or not to pass any rule regarding a RTP.
> If the CPSC remains silent on the requirements of a RTP, a certifier may use the procedures in the proposed rule, or reference a CPSC guidance document from November 2009, which first outlined the CPSC’s view of a RTP. The CPSC guidance document and proposed rule list the following components can be part of a RTP: --- Product Specification--- Certification Testing --- Production Testing Plan --- Remedial Action Plan --- Record Keeping
Acceptable labeling for compliant products > The final rules states a certified compliant product may contain the label: --- “Meets CPSC Safety Requirements”
Additional Resources The CPSC has posted recordings of the webcasts discussing this topic at: http://www.cpsc.gov/webcast/previous.html
The complete Final Rule has not yet been released in the Federal Register. The CPSC briefing package with the draft Final Rule and comments can be viewed at: http://www.cpsc.gov/library/foia/foia11/brief/certification.pdf
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