SG 162/23
Hong Kong has initiated a consultation on the city’s proposal to revise several standards for toys and children’s products. Comments will be accepted until December 31, 2023.
Hong Kong’s Toys and Children’s Products Safety Ordinance (the Ordinance, Cap 424) stipulates that toys and children’s products must comply with all applicable requirements in any one of the safety standards specified in Schedule 1 (Toy Standards) or Schedule 2 (Schedule 2 Product Standards) to the Ordinance.
On December 1, 2023, Hong Kong launched a one-month consultation over its proposed updates to safety standards for toys and children’s products (with an Annex detailing the proposed changes) to adopt up-to-date and operative versions of the standards for toys and six categories of Schedule 2 products.
Highlights of the proposed amendment to Schedules 1 and 2 of the Ordinance are summarized in Table 1.
| Entry | Children’s Product | Current Standard | Proposed New Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toys - ‘Mechanical and physical properties’1 | ISO 8124-1:2018/Amd 1:2020/Amd 2:2020 | ISO 8124-1:2022 |
| 2 | Toys - ‘Flammability’1 | ISO 8124-2:2014 | ISO 8124-2:2023 |
| 3 | Toys - ‘Migration of certain elements’1 | ISO 8124-3:2020 | ISO 8124-3:2020/Amd 1:2023 |
| 4 | Toys - ‘Olfactory board games, cosmetic kits and gustative games’1 | BS EN 71-13:2021 | BS EN 71-13:2021+A1:2022 |
| 5 | Baby walking frames2 | ASTM F977-18 | ASTM F977-22e1 |
| 6 | Bunk beds for domestic use2 | ISO 9098-1:1994 | ISO 9098-1:2023 |
| 7 | Bunk beds for domestic use2 | ISO 9098-2:1994 | ISO 9098-2:2023 |
| 8 | Child safety barriers for domestic use2 | ASTM F 1004-21 | ASTM F 1004-23 |
| 9 | Children’s paints2 | ISO 8124-3:2020 | ISO 8124-3:2020/Amd 1:2023 |
| 10 | Playpens for domestic use2 | ASTM F406-19 | ASTM F406-22 |
| 11 | Wheeled child conveyances2 | AS/NZS 2088:2013 | AS 2088:2022 |
| 12 | Wheeled child conveyances2 | BS EN 1888-1:2018 | BS EN 1888-1:2018+A1:2022 |
1 Schedule 1 to the Ordinance ‘Toy Standards’
2 Schedule 2 to the Ordinance ‘Schedule 2 Product Standards’
Table 1
A previous revision to the Ordinance was announced in February 2023, with the changes becoming effective in August 2023 (SafeGuardS 26/23)
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