Consumer Product Safety Enforcement in Israel

The OECD Roundtable on Consumer Product Safety, Paris, 23 October 2008

Consumer Product Safety

Enforcement in Israel

Grisha DeitchCommissioner of Standardization

Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor

State of Israel

Standards Law

Consumer product safety enforcement in Israel is

performed according to the Standards Law – 1953,

which states as follows:

The Commissioner of Standardization may, at any

reasonable time, carry out an inspection in order to

examine whether the provisions of this Law are

complied with. Standards Law, Article 10(a).


Commissioner of Standardization



In carrying out an inspection, the Commissioner, or any

person authorized by him on his behalf may:

1. Enter, … any place where he has reason to believe that a

product, the specification for which has been prescribed

as a mandatory standard, is produced or kept …, and

check any product …, and take a sample for the purpose

of testing …

2. Seize or retain anything which he has reason to believe

that an offence against the provision of this Law has been

committed in respect thereof …” Standards Law, Article

10(b).

Mandatory Standard

After consultation with representatives of producers and consumers the Minister may - by a proclamation published in the Official Gazette -proclaim part or all of a certain standard to be a Mandatory Israel Standard , if he concluded that it was necessary for the achievement of one of the following objectives:



1. Maintaining public health 2. Maintaining public safety 3. Protecting the quality of the environment

Duty to adhere to Mandatory Standard

“ No person shall produce, sell, import or

use in any work a commodity, a specification

of which has been defined as a mandatory

standard, unless such commodity conforms to

the requirements of the mandatory standard

…”

Standards Law





nExamples of products governed by mandatory standards

include: children’s high chairs, cigarette lighters, toys, drain

openers for domestic use, firelighters for igniting charcoal and

more. In a growing number of cases, the mandatory standards

adopt international and/or regional standards.

nAccording to a recent government decision, by 2010 some 65

percent of all mandatory standards are required to be adoptions

of international standards. This resolution was accompanied by

a special budget of $ 5 million for the Standards Institution of

Israel.



Delegation of Authority

Where enforcement is deemed more efficient or more

effective, the Commissioner delegates his authority, for

example to the Ministry of Health for inspection and

control of food products and to the Ministry of National

Infrastructure in the case of automobile and other fuels.



Consumer product safety enforcement staff

The enforcement staff at the disposal of the

Commissioner of Standardization includes engineer

specialists in the main technical fields. The annual

budget available for ex-post market surveillance and

product safety enforcement in 2008 was $300,000.



nEnforcement program plan

nA product, the specifications of which have been defined

as a mandatory standard, should be reviewed at least once

every three years. The products reviewed in any given

year are determined by a computerized annual

enforcement program, itself based on a long-term three

year plan. Additional products are selected for review

based on other information sources, e.g., consumer

complaints, information offered by competitors and data

gathered from the surgical departments of 7 hospitals

throughout the country.



nThe Commissioner of Standardization commissioned a survey

of injuries suffered by infants and children. It summarizes

data on the type of injuries suffered, age of the child, the

product causing the injury, site of the accident.

nA second survey, for which a tender is about to be published,

will review injury data on youths and adults, gathered by six

trauma centers throughout the country. These surveys will be

instrumental in setting risk-based priorities for enforcement at

the marketing stage.

Gathering data on injuries

to infants and children

THE PURPOSE: Creation of a risk basis for setting priorities for enforcement at the marketing stage

GATHERED BY: The National Center for Children’s Health and Safety

GATHERED FROM: Surgical departments of 7 hospitals

OTHER SOURCES: * The public* The media

WHAT DATA? * TYPE of injury * AGE of infant/child* PRODUCT causing injury * SITE of accident

DATA DELIVERED TO COMMISSIONER OF STANDARDIZATION:

Bi-monthly summary tables





Market surveillance sampling program

Results of the 2007 market surveillance sampling program of

electrical appliances for domestic and similar uses:

Of 71 samplings, 32 were based on prior information. Random

samples were taken of 39 additional products. Of the random

sample, 69 percent was found to conform to standards. Of the

directed (non-random) sample, safety deficiencies were found in

90.6 percent of the goods. These results emphasize the

importance of shifting to the much more efficient risk-based

decision making.

n



nMeasures taken

nThese include administrative sanctions, including

seizure of products or a temporary freeze on them at

the owner’s location. We also do product testing and

at times require warnings to be published in the local

press (or publish them on our own initiative). We

have the authority to initiate legal steps, including

taking suppliers or distributors to court. Our staff

submits 500-800 products per year to conformity

assessment bodies (CABs) for testing.



nSafety of imported goods

nActivities to ensure product safety are not confined to

surveillance at the market stage. All imported

products that are subject to mandatory standards must

receive approval prior to being released from

customs. Imported (non-food) commodities are

divided into four categories according to their degree

of potential risk to consumers.

The 4 levels of inspection

Group 1: Highest level of risk

Examples: toys, electrical home appliances, fire

extinguishers.

No change in existing procedures , an examination of

each shipment is still a requirement for release from

customs.






Group 2: Medium level of potential risk

Examples: pipe fittings, carpets, bottles.

One time permit based on a type approval test.

Importer’s declaration- goods in subsequent shipments

identical to the authorized type and conform to the relevant

standards.

Inspections of each shipment - no longer required.


Group 3: Inherent low level of risk

Examples: sun glasses, ceramic wall tiles, ceramic

sanitary fixtures and materials, etc.

Only importer’s declaration of conformity to applicable

official standards required.

No examination of goods required.




Group 4: Goods solely for industrial use

(not for direct consumer use)

Examples: electrical industrial items.

Release of these goods from customs will not depend at

all on obtaining a certificate of conformity to official

standards.

.



Rationale and objectives

“Presumption of Conformity”- greater

responsibility is placed on importers.

Strengthening enforcement at the marketing

phase.



Enforcement and penalties

Stricter enforcement of mandatory standards- especially

groups where clearance can be made easier.

Legislative amendments approved by the Knesset - as

from August 1, 2005. Maximum fines on individuals

may reach $ 55,000 ($5,500 before).

Commissioner has the administrative power to place

shipments imported by an unreliable importer into

Group 1, i.e. requiring full physical examination of

imported goods.



Cooperation and information exchange

We collect the information about dangerous products

published by CPSC, several European organizations,

Australia & New Zealand and place it on our website

monthly.

An Agreement between CPSC and the Standardization

Administration in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and

Labor of Israel, signed recently, provides a framework

within which we can share expertise and information and

offer other mutual support to improve consumer product

safety.



Israel’s national contact point

This is the point to tell you that Israel’s Standardization Administration contains a national WTO/TBT enquiry point.

It notifies the WTO in Geneva of pending changes in technical regulations, distributes similar notifications forwarded by WTO from other Member States to our local exporters.



Next steps- Moving towards the GPSD

We are in the process of preparing an amendment to the

Standards Law that will include the general principles of the

GPSD.

This will create the legal grounds for the removal of

dangerous goods from the market although they are not

covered by mandatory standards.



Next steps

Enforcement of safety requirements mainly at the retail

stage, rather than at the point of release from customs.



Thank you for your

attention!

Grisha Deitch, Commissioner of Standardization, Ministry

of Industry, Trade and Labor, 5 Bank of Israel Street, 91036,

Jerusalem. Telephone: 972-2-6662296; Fax: 972-2-

6662943.

e-mail: [email protected] ; Website:

http://www.moital.gov.il (also contains English text)

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.moital.gov.il/

Consumer Product Safety Enforcement in Israel

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