Children's toys put to the test
By Wayne Chan | Posted: 13
July 2011 1927 hrs
SINGAPORE: A recent test on 200 samples of toys by
SPRING Singapore has found 20 per cent of them to be unsafe.
The toys were tested for physical and mechanical safety, and to
check that chemical contents were within safe limits.
SPRING issued 47 stop-sale notices to retailers whose toys were
found to be unsafe.
SPRING also noted the latest results were an improvement from the
last test in April by the Consumers Association of Singapore
(CASE), which found nearly 46 per cent of toys unsafe.
It said the Consumer Goods Safety Requirements put in place in
April made suppliers more serious about following international
standards.
And to further improve toy safety in Singapore, SPRING is setting
up a joint working group to make toys sold here safer.
The group includes representatives from CASE, Singapore Toys &
Confectionery Dealers' Association, Federation of Merchants'
Associations Singapore and Singapore Retailers Association.
Mr Tan Kai Hoe, SPRING's deputy chief executive, said: "Because the
supply chain is so complex, we need to have certain policies or
procedures to educate our suppliers about how they should be
communicating and how they should be procuring their
supplies."
Dato' Dr Jannie Chan Siew Lee, president of the Singapore Retailers
Association, said: "Now that we are conscious of the standards that
have been set up by SPRING, when we order our goods, we have to
make sure that we are buying from importers and manufacturers that
have passed the standards."
Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, president of CASE, said: "But it's still
important for consumers to play a part to be aware that under these
regulations they will have to look out for toys that have been
certified, either by European, American or the ISO
standards."
Those who do not stop the sale of unsafe toys - toys found to have
failed international safety standards by SPRING - can be fined up
to S$10,000 or jailed for up to two years, or both.
-CNA/ck <!-- Zone Tag : Channel News asia In Text
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