Inspection campaign to ensure safety of toys

posted on 23/01/2012: 92 views

The Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council (QCC) has launched an inspection campaign on toy stores to ensure the safety of children's toys and their conformity with safety standards, particularly the GCC Conformity Marking. The initiative is part of a broader programme of consumer goods inspection that is being conducted in Abu Dhabi by the Quality and Conformity Council.

The current campaign is focused on children's toys in the under-three years category and is covering all shops in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi including Abu Dhabi City, Al Ain and the Western Region.

So far, the campaign has inspected 4,616 products of which 35 per cent has been found to be non-compliant resulting in 53 formal warnings issued to retailers at the first stage of corrective action.

Abdulla Hassan Al Muaini, Director of Consumer Safety in the Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council, commented that the selection of this category of products for inspection and examination is in line with the high importance attached by the Council to the safety of children in the Emirate. "We are concerned with safety issues in all toy categories and our initial focus is to protect the most vulnerable age group in our multicultural society, that is children under three years of age who are exposed to many and varied types of toys coming from the different markets of the world.”

Statistics issued by the Middle East Toy Fair showed that in 2009 the UAE was the seventh biggest toy import and re-export market in the world. According to the same source, the UAE market contains more than 18,000 toy dealers who trade goods from a wide variety of product manufacturers from around the world, with varying degrees of product quality.

The regulations for toys include the necessity for the product to clearly display in Arabic and English the manufacture's name or trademark as well as the country of origin, targeted age category and the product's barcode, Al Muaini said. The packaging should also contain clear information on whether the game or toy needs to be used under the supervision or control of adults, he said.

Inspection will also cover aspects related to the culture of the UAE. A toy or its package should not contain pictures or shapes that affect the religious, moral and cultural constants or constitute an insult or offensive language to any section of the society.

Breeches of the regulation, where products violate the safety standards of the Emirate and to pose a threat to children, will consequently be banned from being displayed and sold. In cases where the GCC Conformity Marking is not available, however, a warning will be forwarded to the store owner showing the violations that should be rectified.

Since the campaign launch at the beginning of the year, 1,617 products identified as non-compliant have been withdrawn from the market and warnings issued to retailers; requiring them to take corrective measures and obtain the technical file of the product within seven days.

He underlined the importance for consumers, especially parents, to be alert and check information attached to products in general and the toys for children under three years in particular. "It is necessary for consumers to deal with the stores known for their quality and good reputation,” he said. "It is recommended that consumers look for GCC Conformity Marking on these products, read the instructions and warnings and make sure the battery is in a place that is not accessible to children. It is also necessary not to give children in their early years toys that contain small pieces that pose a choking hazard, and jeopardise their life.”

Al Muaini said it is advisable for those who suspect any products that are dangerous for the children's health and safety to file a complaint with Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council. He pledged to take all the necessary measures most urgently to prevent hazards and handle the situation in accordance with the regulations. Consumers can convey their relevant product related complaints to the Council through the Government's call centre on toll free 800555, he said.

He also stressed that retailers must ensure that manufacturers or importers have identified where controlled products meet the standards through use of the GCC conformity mark. – Khaleej Times

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