CPSC, Health Canada, to Align Toy Safety Requirements

Playthings Staff -- Gifts and Dec, December 13, 2012

WASHINGTON - The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Health Canada (HC) confirmed plans to align toy safety standards through both agencies' participation on the ASTM F15.22 Subcommittee on Toy Safety, according to the Toy Industry Association (TIA).

The subcommittee regularly reviews and updates the ASTM F963 Toy Safety Standard, which plays a significant role in helping to determine the mandatory toy safety regulations and requirements enforced in both the U.S. and Canada. The goal of the collaborative effort, according to the CPSC, is to "maximize the potential for aligned positions...as the ASTM standard is revised, thus increasing the likelihood of not only aligned approaches in the two jurisdictions, but also increased safety benefits for consumers."

The Toy Industry Association (TIA) and the Canadian Toy Association (CTA) have long encouraged the agencies to work towards standards harmonization and believe that the commitment to cooperate represents another step towards standards alignment between the U.S. and Canada and both countries' commitment to improving toy safety, according to the TIA.

"We commend the CPSC and their counterparts at Health Canada for taking these additional positive steps to collaborate specifically on toy standards alignment through the existing ASTM International consensus process and the ASTM F963 toy safety standard," said Joan Lawrence, vice president standards and government affairs at the TIA and chair of the ASTM subcommittee on toy safety.