Pet Product Regulations in the US: A Practical Guide

Posted on by Yvette Shen — 6 Comments

Pet toys and accessories imported and manufactured in the United States are subject to various consumer product regulations and standards. In this guide, we cover chemicals and heavy metals restrictions, flammability requirements, and labeling requirements for pet products in general.

Here are some examples of pet products to which this guide is relevant:

  • Pet toys
  • Pet accessories
  • Pet clothing
  • Dog beds
  • Cat scratching trees
  • Pet food

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Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) Guide for Importers and Manufacturers

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Generally Recognized As Safe
The US FDA designates substances as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) if experts have determined via scientific processes that said substances do not pose any inherent health risks. Substances that are GRAS can be found on the FDA’s Food Additives Status List.

This guide covers what GRAS is, food ingredients that have been sanctioned before the implementation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics (FD&C) Act, and which direct and indirect food substances are affirmed as GRAS.

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Pet Product Regulations in the EU: A Practical Guide

Posted on by Yvette Shen — 21 Comments

Planning to import and sell pet products in the European Union? In this guide, we cover essential EU regulations and standards that impact pet toys and accessories. This includes REACH, the General Product Safety Directive (GPSD), and the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR).

Notice that regulations covering pet food or drugs are not included in this article.
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How often should a product be lab tested?

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Lab testing frequency

Are you an importer or a manufacturer looking to test your product? Whether you need to identify the chemical composition of your product or you want to assess if your product meets the relevant safety requirements, ‘laboratory testing’ should be considered.

That being said, lab testing is not necessarily a “one and done” thing. For starters, you can expect that you will need to re-arrange testing if you ever change materials, components, make design changes, or manufacturer. It is also necessary to re-test products as standards are amended, and new standards are implemented.

However, some regulations require that you go one step further and implement a periodic lab testing program – even without any such changes.

This article presents information relating to how frequently lab testing should be done. In addressing the question, we compare several US and EU product regulations. This includes the CPSIA and FCC 47 CFR Part 15 in the US, and the Toy Safety and the EMC Directive in the EU.

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Amazon Electronics Requirements For Sellers: An Overview

Posted on by Yvette Shen — 4 Comments

Amazon Electronics Requirements

Electronics sellers on Amazon must ensure compliance with a range of product regulations and safety standards. In this guide, we cover the basics of Amazon requirements concerning electronics standards, labeling requirements, testing, and packaging.

Note

This guide only covers product regulations, standards, and other requirements for selling on Amazon in the United States (e.g. FCC 47 CFR Part 15). However, the same principles apply when selling products on Amazon in the European Union (e.g. the EMC Directive), Australia, Japan, and elsewhere.

Further, Amazon can change its terms and requirements at will. This article serves as an introduction, but not a replacement for the up-to-date seller requirements on Amazon Seller Central.

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Amazon Toys & Children’s Products Requirements Guide for Sellers

Posted on by Yvette Shen — 2 Comments

Amazon Toy Children Products Requirements

Planning to sell toys or other children’s products on Amazon? In this article, we explain what Amazon sellers must know about relevant regulations, mandatory safety standards, certification, labeling, and lab testing rules.

More specifically, this guide covers compliance requirements for toys, children’s jewelry, children’s furniture, clothing, baby products, and other related products.

We also explain what documents Amazon’s compliance team often requests from companies selling toys and other children’s products on their platform.

Note

This guide only covers product regulations, standards, and other requirements for selling on Amazon in the United States (e.g. CPSIA). However, the same principles apply when selling products on Amazon in the European Union (e.g. Toy Safety Directive), Australia, Japan, and elsewhere.

Further, Amazon can change its terms and requirements at will. This article serves as an introduction, but not a replacement for the up-to-date seller requirements on Amazon Seller Central.
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Food Contact Materials Lab Testing Guide: A Complete Guide

Posted on by Fredrik Gronkvist — 3 Comments

food contact materials testing
Third-party testing is almost always necessary when importing or manufacturing food contact materials in the EU, US, and UK. In this guide, Niko Markkinen – FCM expert at Measurlabs in Finland, explains what brands must know about the following:

  • How to determine applicable FCM regulations and standards
  • Overall migration testing (OML)
  • Specific migration testing (SML)
  • How to determine the right test conditions
  • FCM testing costs
  • Number of required samples
  • Reasons why FCM testing fail

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Furniture Regulations in the United States: A Complete Guide

Posted on by Yvette Shen — 3 Comments

Furniture Regulations in the United States

Are you planning to manufacture, import, or sell furniture in the United States? In this guide, we cover regulations and standards that apply to various types of furniture in the United States. Such products include wooden furniture, children’s furniture, upholstered furniture, and more.

This includes the Lacey Act, CPSIA, fire safety standards, and California Proposition 65.
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Phthalate Regulations in the United Kingdom: An Overview

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Phthalate Regulations in the United Kingdom

Increasingly, phthalates are seen as dangerous when exposed to too much of them. Various jurisdictions, including the UK, are requiring importers and manufacturers to test their products for the presence of phthalates before allowing such products to be placed on the market.

In this article, we explain what phthalates are and why they are one of the more important substances to look out for when importing and manufacturing products in the UK. However, this article does not cover regulations in Northern Ireland.

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Furniture Regulations in the European Union: A Complete Guide

Posted on by Yvette Shen — 4 Comments

Furniture Regulations in the European Union

Planning to import or manufacture furniture for the European Union market? In this article, we cover several regulations, directives, and safety standards that apply to furniture in the EU. More specifically, the guide covers compliance requirements for wooden furniture, upholstered furniture, children’s furniture, and other products.

This includes the General Product Safety Directive, flammability standards, EUTR, the Toy Safety Directive, and REACH.
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