FAREHAM, England, June 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

TÜV SÜD Product Service, international experts in product safety testing, today launches its Toy Compliance Service. The new service will help toy manufacturers, importers and retailers ensure that they comply with the new Toy Safety Directive, the first major change to toy safety requirements in 20 years.

The Toy Compliance Service documentation review assesses if manufacturers have correctly risk assessed products and conducted all relevant testing to assure retailers that toys imported from outside the EU comply with the new safety rules.

With toy exports from China valued at $423 million in January* alone, there is increasing concern that manufacturers are not testing products correctly. Indeed, the International Council of Toy Industries has stated that 'there is a need to strengthen the testing and inspection systems we use to ensure that toys exported from China, or anywhere else, are safe.'

Alastair McLaughlin, Toy Safety Specialist, said: "The toy market has seen a number of high profile toy recalls and some confusion where the buck stops in the supply chain. The new regulations make it crystal clear, so it is vital that importers and retailers ensure that their supply chain is compliant."

TÜV SÜD Product Service's new Toy Compliance Services will assess a toy manufacturer's technical documentation as an ongoing service for importers and retailers, or train them to make their own assessments in-house. It can also support manufacturers with a complete technical documentation service, including risk assessment of the design, correct compilation of documents and safety evidence, and sample testing.

* statistics from the Hong Kong Development Council - China's Import & Export Commodities Statistics

About TÜV SÜD Product Service http://www.tuvps.co.uk

TÜV SÜD Product Service is one of the world's leading experts in product testing and certification, with 150,000 product certificates in circulation globally. TÜV SÜD Product Service analyses over 20,000 products each year in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas, ensuring that products are safe and minimising liability risks for manufacturers, importers and retailers.

TÜV SÜD Product Service's sister company, BABT, is the world's leading radio and telecommunications certification body, and is a Notified Body under the R&TTE http://www.babt.com

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SOURCE TUV SUD Product Service