General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China (AQSIQ) validated notifications on 19 batches of imported industrial goods, which were found non-compliant during inspection and quarantine process at the entry ports of China. They have not been offered for sale on the China market yet and are re-dispatched or destroyed instead according to laws. ...

28 March, 2018, The European Commission has notified the WTO of a draft Regulation, amending entry 51 to REACH Annex XVII to restrict the use of four phthalates in toys. The draft prohibits the use as substances or in mixtures in a concentration equal to or greater than 0.1 % by weight of the plasticized material in toys and childcare articles of diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP) and the placing on the market in articles of any of the listed four phthalates ...

3 April, 2018, the Official Journal of the European Union issued a directive 2018/C 117/03, approving the authorization application of sodium dichromate in the REACH Annex XIV.Use of sodium dichromate as corrosion inhibitor in ammonia absorption deep cooling systems as applied in the industrial production of freeze-dried products such as coffee, herbs, spices and comparable products. ...

The new Federal Safety Standard for baby bouncing chairs (16 CFR 1229), takes effect on March 19, 2018. 7 September, 2017, Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), approved a new federal mandatory standard according to ASTM F2167-17 to improve the safety of baby bouncing chair and prevent the baby death and injury. This durable baby product is suitable for babies who are 6 months old and cannot sit alone. ...

January 2018, the European Commission for Standardization (EU) released new toy safety part 8 of EN 71-8:2018 - Safety requirements for household activity toys, replacing the old version of en71-8:2011. The EU standard is equivalent to national standards of EU member states and will be issued by official notification or approval by July 2018 at the latest. National standards that conflict with this standard will be abolished after July 2018.Compared to the previous version, the new version mainly updates the following. ...

22 February 2018, the American Apparel & Footwear Association(AAFA) released the 19th edition of the Restricted Substance List (RSL), the industry’s chemical management resource listing banned or restricted chemicals and substances for finished apparel, footwear, and home textile products around the world.The 19th edition of the RSL covers 12 categories with more than 250 chemicals and is updated to reflect additions or changes to regulations and laws that restrict or ban certain chemicals in finished apparel, footwear, and home textile products. ...

The European Commission validated 268 RASFF notifications this month, including 240 notifications on food, accounting for 89.55%; 20 notifications on feed, accounting for 7.46%; 8 notifications on food contact materials (FCMs), accounting for 2.99%, in which 4 products from China are contained, accounting for 50%. The prime hazards for FCMs are migration of elements. ...

On March 12th 2018, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issues "The Standard Management Catalogue of limiting the Use of Hazardous Substance in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (first batch)" and "the Exemption List to the Use of Restricted Substance in the Standard Management Catalogue". ...

The Canadian government has proposed amendments to its regulations for products containing mercury in order to bring the country's requirements in line with the Minamata Convention. The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a global, legally binding treaty that aims to protect the environment and human health.Canada would adjust mercury content limits for three kinds of products.Comments on the proposed regulation will be accepted until 2 April. ...

8 March, 2018, The ECHA conducts public consultation on eight substances of very high concern identification proposed by member states and agencies. If a substance is identified as a SVHC, it will be added to the Candidate List for eventual inclusion in the Authorization List.The deadline for public comment on the proposal is 23 April, 2018.All interested parties are invited to submit comments on such reports during the public consultation. ...