According to a final rule issued by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), manufacturers and importers of children's products will be required to test \"representative samples\" at least annually to ensure that their products continue to comply with all safety regulations. Under U.S. federal regulations, testing must be conducted by a \"third-party assessment organization\" accredited by the CPSC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The specification \"Testing and Labeling Pertaining to Product Certification Regarding Representative Samples for Periodic Testing of Children\u2019s Products\" will come into effect on February 8, 2013, and stipulates the record-keeping requirements for representative sample testing. Records should be kept for at least 5 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Children\u2019s products affected by the regulations include bicycles, furniture, clothing, jewelry, television sets, and toys that are \u201cprimarily or intended\u201d for children aged 12 or under.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While there is no explicit rule regarding the number of samples to be tested periodically, it must be \"sufficient to ensure the product's continued compliance with regulations.\" The committee noted that various methods can be used to select representative samples, which can be evaluated based on \"rules, prohibitions, standards, or regulations.\" For chemical testing, a sample taken from \"homogeneous materials, such as paint in a well-mixed container,\" can be considered a representative sample of the paint in the entire container.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Retailers whose suppliers are manufacturers within the United States are not affected by this regulation, but retailers must comply with it for products manufactured or imported outside the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n