CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND RETAIL E-SSENTIAL

USA: ASTM F2388 baby changing table updates

april 2018 - Relevant for: children's products INDUSTRY

On 16 March 2018, ASTM released a revision of F2388-18¹ - Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Baby Changing Products for Domestic Use replacing its previous edition F2388-17a.

In this revision, there are a lot of editorial changes about the renumbering of sub-sections and figures due to new sub-sections and figures added. Moreover, there are also technical changes in the requirements and test methods.

Below lists highlight the key changes in the requirements and test methods.

• Added definition of protective component in 3.1.15

• Updates on 5.9 Protective Components (previously in 6.1), added that all accessible protective components shall be evaluated.
• Updates on 7.1 Removal of Protective Components, added that the product must be secured without movement during performance of Torque test and Tension test.
• Updates on 7.7 Self-folding Steps, split into two test methods according to whether the mechanism requires a pull/push action or a twist/turn action in 7.7.1 and 7.7.2 respectively.
• 10.1 has specified the instruction provided shall be in English at a minimum.
• Updates on 10.4 about Warning statements in the instruction, a sample warning (Fig. 17) is added for reference.

The following are whole new sections added in this revision:

• 5.10 is about product must comply with the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA).
• 5.11 is about design of product shall prevent injuries caused by scissoring, shearing, and pinching.
• 5.12 is about alternative use or product functionality that can be converted into will have to comply with the applicable requirements when used in that mode.

[1] ASTM F2388-18