On 9 October 2015, the Official Journal published a Commission Communication setting out the titles and references of harmonised European standards under the EU’s Directive on General Product Safety (Directive 2001/95/EC). The Communication sets out the references of product safety standards which manufacturers use to ensure that the general safety requirements set out in Directive 2001/95/EC are met in respect of the consumer products covered, throughout the EU and in a harmonised manner.
The comprehensive list of the product safety standards under Directive 2001/95/EC, provided in the publication, replaces all previous official lists published at EU level. The standards, the names of which are referenced in the list, will likely interest Hong Kong’s consumer goods manufacturers exporting to the EU, as they include safety requirements for children’s clothing, child protection products and childcare articles, sports equipment (including stationary training equipment such as exercise bikes, rowing machines and elliptical trainers), bicycles, furniture items and lighters.
It should be noted that other product sector-specific EU laws, such as those governing machinery, electrical safety, toys and personal protective equipment, (among a myriad others) have their own lists of safety standards. The ones mentioned here are only those which fall under Directive 2001/95/EC. For the other EU laws and the harmonised standards that fall under them, please click on the following for the latest up-to-date lists: Harmonised Standards.
The Directive on General Product Safety, adopted in 2001, sets out general requirements for what constitutes a safe product, for consumer goods that do not benefit from specific “sectoral” legislation. Such non-specifically-covered goods include the abovementioned products (childcare articles, bicycles, sports equipment, lighters, etc.). The requirements are in several cases fleshed out by means of harmonised European standards.
The harmonised standards listed in the publication of 9 October 2015 are European standards adopted by one of the European standards bodies (CEN, CENELEC and ETSI). Compliance with the harmonised standards, the reference numbers of which have been published in the Official Journal, and which have been transposed into national standards, provides a presumption of conformity with the essential requirements of the Directive on General Product Safety. Thus, Hong Kong manufacturers exporting the products covered by the standards to the EU would be well advised to acquire and follow the provisions of the standards applicable to those consumer goods.
The following extracts from the 9 October 2015 publication comprise those standards which have been newly published. These, as well as other earlier-published standards mentioned in the list, may be of potential interest to Hong Kong consumer goods producers:
-
EN 1466:2014: Child use and care articles — Carry cots and stands — Safety requirements and test methods.
-
EN 1930:2011: Child use and care articles — Safety barriers — Safety requirements and test methods.
-
EN ISO 4210-1:2014: Cycles — Safety requirements for bicycles — Part 1: Terms and definitions (ISO 4210-1:2014).
-
EN ISO 4210-2:2015: Cycles — Safety requirements for bicycles — Part 2: Requirements for city and trekking, young adult, mountain and racing bicycles (ISO 4210-2:2014).
-
EN ISO 4210-3:2014: Cycles — Safety requirements for bicycles — Part 3: Common test methods (ISO 4210-3:2014).
-
EN ISO 4210-4:2014 Cycles — Safety requirements for bicycles — Part 4: Braking test methods (ISO 4210-4:2014).
-
EN ISO 4210-5:2014: Cycles — Safety requirements for bicycles — Part 5: Steering test methods (ISO 4210-5:2014, Corrected version 2015-02-01)
-
EN ISO 4210-6:2014: Cycles — Safety requirements for bicycles — Part 6: Frame and fork test methods (ISO 4210-6:2014).
-
EN ISO 4210-7:2014: Cycles — Safety requirements for bicycles — Part 7: Wheels and rims test methods (ISO 4210-7:2014).
-
EN ISO 4210-8:2014: Cycles — Safety requirements for bicycles — Part 8: Pedal and drive system test methods (ISO 4210-8:2014).
-
EN ISO 4210-9:2014: Cycles — Safety requirements for bicycles — Part 9: Saddles and seat-post test methods (ISO 4210-9:2014).
-
EN ISO 8098:2014: Cycles — Safety requirements for bicycles for young children (ISO 8098:2014).
-
EN 12221-1:2008+A1:2013: Child use and care articles — Changing units for domestic use — Part 1: Safety requirements.
-
EN 12221-2:2008+A1:2013: Child use and care articles — Changing units for domestic use — Part 2: Test methods.
-
EN 13219:2008: Gymnastic equipment — Trampolines — Functional and safety requirements, test methods.
-
EN 14682:2014: Safety of children's clothing — Cords and drawstrings on children's clothing — Specifications.
To view the full list of the European standards, as published in the Official Journal on 9 October 2015, please click on the following for the Communication.
|
