With the implementation of the Market Surveillance Ordinance and the extension to include all products under the Market Surveillance Act in Germany, each product must now have a person responsible for its safety and market conformity from 16 July this year.

The past regulation for energy-saving lamps or compact fluorescent light sources, as they are now referred to, will be repealed on 1 September 2021. The new targets for luminous efficacy (lm/W) are so low that most energy-saving lamps will have to be withdrawn from the market. In addition, new energy efficiency requirements for light sources will apply from the same date.

As reported by the German environmental agency Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) early in June this year, many online purchasing portals lack legally required information on the disposal of packaging containing harmful substances, such as construction foam cans. DUH called on the authorities to check such online portals and to ensure compliance with the information obligation.

On 3 June 2021 this year, the Toys Directive was tightened yet again. The objective of the measure is to minimise as far as possible the use of aniline, which is often used in textile dyes, textiles, leather or finger paints. Economic operators responsible for products, such as manufacturers, importers or fulfilment service providers, should respond in good time and adapt their inspection strategies accordingly.

In June of this year, the safety standard for beds, DIN ISO 19833, was released. Proof of conformity for bedroom furniture, which is still subject to the very outdated EN 1725 of 1998, is facilitated by this new publication.

On 15 April 2021, the German Bundestag provided information on the presentation of draft legislation for the reorganisation of market surveillance in Germany. For non-harmonised products, this will mean that every economic operator, whether manufacturer, importer, fulfilment service provider or distributor, will now be obliged to provide information on a product to the market surveillance authorities.

As of 3 July 2021, some single-use plastic products will be banned for sale. Many of these single-use products, such as drinking straws, plates, stirrers, cutlery or fast food packaging come into contact with foodstuffs. Alternative materials must therefore be evaluated with immense caution. In order to make the selection of substitutes easier, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment has published a communique on which alternative materials to plastic drinking straws exist.

The German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, BMEL for short, points out in a communiqué dated 17 May 2021 to various associations that products made of bamboo or bamboo flour are not suitable for contact with foodstuffs. The supervisory and customs authorities have already taken action to remove drinking cups, tableware and similar products from the market or not to allow them to enter the EU in the first place. Moreover, they have announced an increased, EU-wide crackdown on these products.

The Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (German acronym: BAuA) published the brochure “Restrictions and Prohibitions under REACH” in March this year. trade-e-bility supports you in optimising test plans and verification documentation.

In order to reduce the volume of updates in the SCIP database, the database operator ECHA (European Chemicals Agency) recently issued an information sheet stating that unnecessary updates, such as uploading irrelevant information or information with the same content should be avoided as far as possible. ECHA also points out that the quality of the SCIP data is the sole responsibility of the data submitter.