On 15 June 2009, Member States' experts sitting in the General Product Safety Committee in Brussels gave their go-ahead to proposals for two new child safety standards: one for child bathing articles, the other for childproof locking devices. Hong Kong's toys and childcare articles exporting community should take note of the main thrust of the future standards, which will have to be drawn up by CEN, the EU's main standardisation body, before eventually being approved by, and applied in, the Member States.

The Commission, which will provide CEN with the mandate to draft the new standards, is currently working with Member States to update safety standards for a range of childcare products. This is particularly so where no EU standards exist, or where existing standards are no longer felt to cover all the risks. Hong Kong's manufacturer-exporters should be warned that proposals for even more standards, for nursery products, will be presented over the coming year. The products envisaged in this range are, e.g., high chairs, booster seats and cot mattresses. As for the current proposals for standards, the following should be of interest to Hong Kong sellers:

Baby bath articles: there are as yet no safety standards in place for child-bathing articles, such as bath seats, bathing aids and baths. France maintains a limited number of compliance provisions, but this appears to be the only Member State to do so. Due to evidence on a global scale unearthed by the Commission, of accidents and injuries in recent years, it carried out its own study (2007-2008) following consultations with Member States. The study identified a number of products which pose risks to infants and young children. The products include the following: 

• bath seats for babies, namely products which help keep the infant in a seated position during bathing;
• bathing aids, often used for very young or newborn babies, to be held in a lying position during bathing;
• and baths and bath stands for infants up to 12 months - it is felt that these products have become extremely popular and are increasingly being used by consumers.

The main reason for accidents to occur is said to be a false sense of security: adults simply assume the products to be safe, and are therefore more likely to leave infants unattended. Stability (or a lack thereof) is another concern: products have collapsed, become detached from the surface or could be accidentally opened by infants, even with adults present.

Due to the risks envisaged, the new standard will introduce improved stability and resistance requirements, and minimise the risk of "tipping over" if the child were to move around. Another requirement will be clearer and more visible warnings and instructions to consumers, on the packaging, on the product itself and at the point of sale.

Locking devices for windows and doors: the intention here is to avoid accidents by both blocking the opening of a window or balcony door to a certain limited position, and childproofing the lock in order that it cannot be opened by a child of under four. According to recent estimates, accidental falls from windows and balconies are not uncommon among children below five years (pursuant to data gathered in a number of Member States including Greece, the UK, Denmark and Sweden). A study conducted by three European countries also found that several locking device models could be disengaged by a child, despite claims of being childproof, while other models collapsed, broke or did not withstand ageing tests. Moreover, none of the models that were tested contained sufficient basic instructions.

For this category or products, therefore, the Commission has proposed introducing new requirements to test the device's child resistance, structural integrity throughout the expected lifetime, resistance to ageing and exposure to weather conditions. The future standard will also lay down provisions for clear instructions and information to users.

Meglena Kuneva, the EU's consumer affairs Commissioner, commented that "instructions must be very clear, products must really be childproof if they say they are, and products must withstand all necessary safety tests". Once CEN receives the Commission's mandates for the two standards, its work could last around two years.