AQSIQ held a press conference to report on the revision of the Administrative Measures for Certification Bodies and related matters

On the afternoon of 26 May, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) held a regular press briefing. Li Jing, the spokesperson for the Administration and Director of the News Office, released information on five topics: the amendment of the Measures for the Administration of Certification Bodies; the quality and safety situation of imported children's products; the launch of quality improvement campaigns for 10 categories of key products including children's products; the release of the national standard for the Safety Technical Code for Infants and Children's Textile Products; and quality and safety risk alerts for five categories of children's products such as electric toy power adapters. The specific details released are as follows:
1. General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine amends the Measures for the Administration of Certification Bodies
　　To further streamline administration, delegate power, transform government functions and improve the administrative approval procedures for certification bodies, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) and cnca recently implemented a series of reform measures regarding the entry approval and supervision and management of certification bodies, and amended the Measures for the Administration of Certification Bodies. The main amendments are reflected in the following 4 aspects:
　　First, abolish certain administrative approval and record-filing items, and adjust the management methods. First, abolish the administrative approval for certification bodies setting up branches, and adjust it to submitting relevant information to cnca or local certification regulatory authorities; second, abolish the administrative approval for certification bodies subcontracting certification business of overseas certification bodies, and adjust it to ex-post record-filing management; third, abolish the record-filing for certification bodies setting up offices and overseas certification bodies setting up resident representative offices in China, and adjust it to submitting relevant information to cnca or local certification regulatory authorities.
　　Second, easing the approval conditions for certification bodies. First, in line with commercial registration system reform, the approval for establishing a certification body has been changed from “license before registration” to “registration before license”. Any legal person established in accordance with the law and capable of bearing corresponding legal liabilities may apply to establish a certification body after acquiring legal person status; second, the requirement that full-time certification personnel must have professional qualifications and capabilities has been removed; third, the requirement that the Chinese joint venture or cooperative partner of a foreign investor establishing a Sino-foreign equity or cooperative joint venture certification body in China must be a certification body approved by cnca with over 3 years of experience in certification, or an inspection body or laboratory that has obtained qualification accreditation in accordance with the law, has been cancelled; fourth, the requirement to provide feasibility study reports for new certification fields has been removed; fifth, the requirement for investors to provide relevant credit certificates has been removed; and sixth, the restriction that certification bodies must have operated for over 1 year and have no violations of laws and regulations within 1 year when applying to expand their business scope has been lifted.
　　Thirdly, extend the validity period of licences, streamline licensing procedures and reduce processing times. Firstly, the validity period of the existing ‘Certification Body Approval Certificate’ is to be extended from four years to six years; secondly, the timeframe for making an approval decision following the acceptance of an application for the establishment of a certification body is to be reduced from 90 days to 45 days;thirdly, for certification bodies seeking renewal of their approval, the deadline for submission has been amended from 90 days prior to the expiry of the ‘Certification Body Approval Certificate’ to 30 days prior to expiry, and the renewal approval review has been changed to a written review; fourthly, the ‘audit’ expert assessment stage in the authorisation process has been reclassified from a mandatory stage to an optional stage.
Fourthly, to strengthen the code of conduct for certification bodies and reinforce mid-term and ex-post regulation. In accordance with the principle of combining decentralisation, regulation and governance, corresponding necessary mid-term and ex-post regulatory measures have been added to the administrative approvals and filings that have been cancelled. First, where administrative approval items are cancelled, ex-post informative filing shall be implemented. Where no filing is made, corresponding administrative penalties are added. Second, where filing items are cancelled, information submission shall be implemented. Where information is not submitted, corresponding administrative penalties are added. Third, an information disclosure system for annual reports and social responsibility reports of certification bodies shall be added to enhance their self-discipline and subject them to public supervision.
2. Quality and safety information concerning imported children's products
In recent years, consumption of imported children's products in our country has grown rapidly, and brands are becoming increasingly diverse. The quality and safety of children's products are related to children's personal safety and health, and are of great concern to consumers. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) has always been committed to strictly controlling the quality of imported consumer goods and preventing unqualified imported consumer goods from flowing into the domestic market, in order to protect the rights and interests of domestic consumers, especially the health and safety of children. From January to May 2015, the AQSIQ compiled statistics on children's products such as imported children's clothing, toys, infant nappies, food contact products for children, and child car safety seats. With International Children's Day approaching, I am releasing the relevant information as follows:
　　Between January and May 2015, entry-exit inspection and quarantine authorities across China detected a total of 5,778 batches of substandard imported children's products, an increase of 103% year-on-year, with a value of 123.8 million US dollars. Among them, 134 batches failed quality and safety standards, a decrease of 18.7% year-on-year, with packaging and labelling failures accounting for a significant proportion of the non-conformities. These included:
Imported children's clothing. A total of 2,288 batches of imported infant and children's clothing were found to be non-compliant, of which 107 batches failed quality and safety standards, a decrease of 13.7% year-on-year. The main non-compliant items included formaldehyde content, pH value, colour fastness, and discrepancies between fibre composition and labelling. Infant and children's clothing originating from Bangladesh had the most serious quality issues, ranking first in terms of the number of non-compliant batches of imported children's clothing detected in China for two consecutive years, followed by those produced in countries or regions such as India, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Entry-exit inspection and quarantine authorities have implemented returns or destruction for all children's clothing with quality and safety non-compliances.
　　Imported toys. A total of 96 batches of imported children's toys were found to be substandard, an increase of 95% year-on-year, with a total value of USD 2.59 million. Among them, 8 batches failed quality and safety standards, a decrease of 65.2% year-on-year. The main non-compliant items were: mechanical safety failures in plush toys, failures in doll stability tests, substandard average thickness for plastic bags used in toy packaging, and missing 3C marks or warning instructions. Brands involved include HENES, MAMMUT, MUJI, LEGO, etc. The substandard children's toys in question came from South Korea, Vietnam, Kyrgyzstan, Hong Kong, and other places.
　　Imported infant diapers (pads). A total of 3,135 batches of imported infant diapers (pads) were found to be substandard, an increase of 228.9% year-on-year, with a cargo value of 110 million US dollars. The substandard items were mainly product labels that did not meet the requirements. For products with unqualified labels, inspection and quarantine institutions supervised import enterprises to carry out technical rectification in accordance with the requirements of China's laws and regulations, so as to meet China's relevant requirements.
Imported food contact products for children. A total of 223 batches of imported food contact products for children were found to be non-compliant, which is 16 times that of the same period last year, involving a value of goods of 5.21 million US dollars. Among them, 18 batches failed quality and safety items, while the rest failed product and packaging labelling requirements. Non-compliant products mainly included water cups, wooden children's chopstick sets, plastic shaping moulds, children's tableware, children's teething rings, glass baby bottles, and children's training chopsticks. The main non-compliant items were colour bleeding, potassium permanganate consumption, evaporation residue, and acrylonitrile monomer residue. The brands involved include BEABA, lifefactory, TRAMONTINA, munchkin, and BEBECONFORT, originating mainly from France, Vietnam, Brazil, and the United States.
Imported child car safety seats. 28 batches of imported child car safety seats were found to be substandard, with a value of 3.862 million US dollars. Among them, 1 batch was substandard in terms of quality and safety and has been returned; the rest were substandard in product and packaging labelling.
Regarding the aforementioned substandard children's products, inspection and quarantine authorities implemented destruction, return to origin, and technical treatment in accordance with relevant provisions of the Law on Import and Export Commodity Inspection and its implementation regulations, strictly preventing unqualified children's products from entering the domestic market.
Children's products are related to the physical health of children. To foster a market environment that is conducive to the healthy growth of children and adolescents, it is necessary not only for inspection and quarantine departments to strengthen quality and safety controls, but also for consumers to enhance their awareness of quality and safety, deepen their understanding of knowledge related to children's products, and make consumption choices in a scientific and rational manner.
Therefore, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) reminds consumers to pay attention to the following points when purchasing children's products: 1. When buying toys and children's vehicles, the products should bear the “CCC” certification mark. Do not buy toys with small parts that could be swallowed or inhaled, nor toys with sharp points or rough edges. Pay attention to age group classifications and warning instructions when using them. 2. When buying children's clothing, check whether buttons and decorative small items are secure, avoid buying infant clothing with coated prints or many small parts, and wash them thoroughly before dressing infants in them. 3. When buying disposable nappies for infants and young children, choose products with intact packaging, a clean appearance, clear labelling, and no unpleasant odours. 4. When buying child-use food contact products, pay attention to checking the instructions for use in Chinese, including the product name and material, and try to avoid brightly coloured products. 5. When buying child car safety seats, choose the seat group suitable for the child's weight and age, and strictly follow the instructions for correct installation.
3. Information regarding the AQSIQ's quality improvement campaigns for 10 key categories of products, including children's products
Recently, the General Administration of Quality Supervision has issued the "Action Plan for Quality Improvement of 10 Categories of Key Products Including Children's Products" (hereinafter referred to as the "Action Plan"), guided by the promotion of product quality improvement, industrial structure adjustment, and the transformation of the economic development mode, closely focusing on the quality and safety demands of key products, key enterprises, and key regions, through top-down coordination and internal-external collaboration, driving all industries to focus on quality, promoting quality improvement through comprehensive rectification, and fostering transformation and upgrading through quality improvement.
The 10 key product categories targeted by this quality enhancement campaign are: children's products, decoration and renovation materials, water-saving products, kitchen utensils, textiles and apparel, automotive petrol and diesel, wires and cables, compound fertilizers, building waterproofing membranes, and food packaging materials.
　　In accordance with the deployment of the “Plan”, by carrying out 10 categories of key product quality improvement actions, 5 objectives are to be achieved. First, “solving problems”: we must conduct in-depth analyses of the causes and crux restricting product quality improvement, guide manufacturing enterprises to strengthen and improve quality management systems, and enhance quality assurance capabilities. Second, “strengthening supervision”: we must step up product quality and safety supervision and inspection efforts, crack down severely on quality violations, strictly handle enterprises with unqualified product quality afterwards, and urge enterprises to implement their primary responsibilities. Third, “demonstration and promotion”: we must vigorously promote the construction of quality improvement demonstration projects (zones), and cultivate a batch of demonstration projects (zones) with driving and guiding effects. Fourth, “forming synergy”: we must strengthen external union and internal collaboration, promote local governments to play a leading role, unite relevant departments to exert joint efforts, and accelerate the construction of a "delegation, regulation, and governance" trinity product quality improvement pattern. Fifth, through the quality improvement of one product after another, the pass rate of national random inspections on the quality of key products will be significantly increased, remaining stable above 90% in 2015.
4. Publication of the Safety Technical Code for Infants and Children Textile Products
Today, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and the Standardisation Administration of China approved and issued the mandatory national standard GB 31701-2015, "Safety Technical Code for Infant and Children Textile Products". This is China's first mandatory national standard specifically for infant and children's textile products (children's clothing). The standard comprehensively regulates the safety performance of children's clothing, which will help guide manufacturing enterprises to improve the safety and quality of children's clothing and protect the health and safety of infants and children. The standard will officially come into effect on 1 June 2016.
Given the vulnerable nature of infants, toddlers, and children, this standard builds upon existing textile safety standards to further elevate all safety requirements for children's and infant textile products, resulting in a comprehensive upgrade in safety. Regarding chemical safety requirements, the standard introduces limit requirements for six types of phthalates (plasticisers) and two heavy metals, lead and cadmium. In terms of mechanical safety, the standard sets out detailed regulations for cords and drawstrings on various parts of children's clothing, such as the head, neck, shoulders, and waist, stipulating that no cords or drawstrings are permitted in the head and neck area of clothing for infants and children aged 7 and under. At the same time, the standard also regulates textile accessories, requiring them to possess a certain tensile strength and to be free of sharp points and edges. Additionally, the standard introduces flammability requirements.
Depending on the age, the standards divide children's clothing into two categories: textile products for babies and toddlers, which are suitable for infants aged 36 months and under, and children's textile products, which are suitable for children aged over 3 years up to and including 14 years.
Depending on the safety requirements, the standard divides children's clothing safety technical categories into Class A, Class B and Class C, with Class A being the best, Class B the second best, and Class C being the basic requirement. Furthermore, it requires that infant textile products must comply with Class A requirements, children's textile products in direct contact with the skin must comply with at least Class B requirements, and children's textile products not in direct contact with the skin must comply with at least Class C requirements. The standard also requires that children's clothing should indicate the safety category in the instructions for use, and infant textile products should additionally be marked with “infant products”. In future, when purchasing children's clothing, consumers can use the safety category indicated in the instructions for use as a reference.
5. AQSIQ issues quality and safety risk warnings for 5 types of children's products including electric toy power adapters
　　Recently, the General Administration of Quality Supervision organised and carried out quality and safety risk monitoring for five types of children's products, including toy scooters, baby walkers, sound toys, spinning toys and modelling clay. Following expert assessment audit, it was found that these products presented certain quality and safety risks to varying degrees.
Among them, 48 batches of toy scooters were monitored, and 46 batches were found to have certain issues with their mechanical and physical properties. These were mainly manifested as gaps between moving parts similar to the width of an infant's fingers; circular holes similar in width to an infant's fingers with sharp edges; handlebar grips that are easy to pull off or handlebar ends with too small a diameter; inner packaging plastic bags that are too thin and not perforated as required; and unreasonable gaps in the handlebar stem and crossbar when adjusted or folded. These issues could lead to injuries such as skin scratches, suffocation, finger pinching or necrosis, and falls. In addition, all 48 batches of samples lacked product labeling or warning information.
A total of 20 batches of baby walkers were monitored, and 19 batches were found to have rolled off the test platform and down the stairs during testing. These products may pose a tipping hazard when used in environments near steps.
A total of 125 batches of sound-producing toys were monitored, and 27 batches were found to have excessively high sound pressure test values. If children are exposed to a high-decibel continuous sound environment for a long time, or subjected to an instantaneously bursting high-decibel impulse sound, it will cause damage to their hearing.
A total of 77 batches of spinning toys were tested, and quality and safety risks were found in 31 batches. The main issue was that components fell off or small fragments were produced during drop or impact tests, which could easily scratch the skin or injure the eyes.
A total of 100 batches of modelling clay samples were tested, and 63 batches were found to have high levels of harmful substances such as migratable metal elements, preservatives, aromatic amines, or total volatile organic compounds. If children are in contact with these products for a long time, it may lead to the transfer of harmful substances into their bodies through the respiratory tract, skin, oral cavity, and other pathways, causing allergic reactions or damage to the nervous system and organs.
The General Administration of Quality Supervision advises consumers to be aware of and guard against these related risks when purchasing and using such products. Specific risk warnings can be found on the General Administration's portal website.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/en/11533/