CPSC Updates List of Import Violations of Mandatory Standards
The Consumer Product Safety Commission on April 20 updated its list of Letters of Advice sent to importers and manufacturers for violations of mandatory product safety standards. Recently added data show CPSC sent letters of action for import-related violations related to 95 products in March and 51 products in April. All of the Letters of Advice sent in March were related to Chinese products, while in April the majority covered products from Mexico and Pakistan. The most common violations in March and April were of tracking label requirements and the Federal Hazardous Substances Act standard for lead in children’s products.
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List Includes Mandatory Standard Violations With Corrective Action
The list of violations includes letters sent since the beginning of fiscal year 2013, where CPSC received a response from the company confirming the violation and the commission decided that the company voluntarily completed correction action to remedy the hazard.
In the past ten months, CPSC sent Letters of Action regarding products from the following countries:
| Month | China | Mexico | Hong Kong | Pakistan | Peru | All Countries* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | 12 | 29 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 60 |
| March | 86 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 86 |
| Feb | 53 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55 |
| Jan 14 | 149 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 173 |
| Dec 13 | 85 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 99 |
| Nov | 84 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 94 |
| Oct | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| Sept | 122 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 138 |
| Aug | 140 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 149 |
| July | 57 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 62 |
| Total 2013 | 1,016 | 53 | 15 | 0 | 10 | 1253 |
| YTD 2014 | 300 | 30 | 18 | 19 | 2 | 374 |
*Also includes other countries with lower numbers of violative products, including Thailand, South Korea, Canada, Vietnam, and Ecuador.
The violations in CPSC’s recent Letters of Action were related to the following mandatory standards:
| Month | Lead (FHSA) | Phthalate | Tracking Label | Small Parts | Art Materials | Lead Paint Toy (CPSA) | Sleepwear Flammability | 3rd Party Cert | All Violations* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | 59 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 |
| March | 18 | 0 | 49 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 86 |
| Feb | 23 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 55 |
| Jan 14 | 69 | 41 | 33 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 173 |
| Dec 13 | 37 | 20 | 19 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 99 |
| Nov | 44 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 94 |
| Oct | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 19 |
| Sept | 43 | 25 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 138 |
| Aug | 30 | 36 | 28 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 149 |
| July | 25 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 62 |
| Total 2013 | 452 | 158 | 117 | 75 | 70 | 66 | 63 | 61 | 1253 |
| YTD 2014 | 169 | 57 | 85 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 374 |
*Also includes less commonly-cited standards, like sleepwear labeling and misbranded toys and balloons.