General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China (AQSIQ) randomly inspects product quality from May to August 2016 covering general merchandise, textiles, electrical and electronic equipment, construction and décor materials, agricultural means of production, machinery and safety protection, electrical engineering and materials.

Upon inspection, 214 out of 2160 batches from 2148 companies are not compliant. The details are as below:

Products fail in the test items below: migration of certain elements, physical and mechanical properties, total of heavy metals, phthalates, tensile strength, pH value and fibre content.

Partial results of random inspection:

1) Child Carriages

Objects Inspected:120 batches of products, including child bicycles, child tricycles, child strollers, baby walkers and toy vehicles, etc.

Test Items:mechanical and physical properties, flammability, migration of certain elements, product label and instructions, etc.

Results:

2) Children’s Footwear

Objects Inspected:children’s leather shoes, children’s athletic shoes, leather scandals, cloth rubber shoes, etc.

Test Items:hazardous substances, safety and physical test, etc.

Results:There are 13 batches of products not complying, including 2 batches falling short of standards for heavy metals, 2 for tensile strength of small parts and 3 for phthalates. It has to be noted that tensile strength and phthalates are new items as per GB 30585-2014 Safety technical specifications for children’s footwear, which enters into operation on 1 Jan. 2016.

3) Sports (Leisure) Wear

Objects Inspected:sports wear, leisure wear and swimming suits.

Test Items:formaldehyde, pH value, cleavable carcinogenic aromatic amine, fibre content, colour fastness, to chlorinated water (water in swimming pool), etc.

Results:All objects inspected are compliant with requirements for formaldehyde and cleavable carcinogenic aromatic amine. However, 3 batches of products prove to exceed the range specified by the standard. 1 batch fails for colour fastness and another 7 batches for fibre content (the actual measurement is not consistent with that specified or the difference exceeds the deviation which the relevant standard permits).

C&K Testing sees the focus of random inspection has gradually shifted from safety and performance to chemical properties in China during recent years. Businesses will be ordered to stop selling the products which are detected not compliant with national standards during inspection. Meanwhile, those products will be destroyed as per stipulations under supervision or treated technically. It is important for businesses to send products for testing to ensure compliance.

|Further Information: AQSIQ Release (in Chinese)

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