Ninety percent of toys sold in Armenia lack safety certificates

05.03.2018 16:11

About 90#37; of toys sold in Armenia lack safety certificates, which is a gross violation of the law, according to Artur Mkrtchyan, the deputy head of the State Market Surveillance Inspectorate, an affiliation of the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments.br / br /

YEREVAN, March 2. /ARKA/. About 90% of toys sold in Armenia lack safety certificates, which is a gross violation of the law, according to Artur Mkrtchyan, the deputy head of the State Market Surveillance Inspectorate, an affiliation of the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments.br

Speaking to a news conference today he said the Inspectorate conducted last year 18 inspections revealing violations at 12 companies, which, particularly, did not have relevant safety certificates, and the toys they sold had no labeling. According to him, the presence of a certificate means that the toys underwent laboratory tests and are safe for children..br

In 2016, out of 59 companies importing toys to Armenia, only four (6.7%) had appropriate certificates. In 2017 out of 76 only 14 companies had the certificatesnbsp;br

As the health of children is at stake, both sellers and buyers of toys should have their share of responsibility. We need to raise a responsible consumer, who will require certificates from sellers and notify regulators about violations, ‘Mkrtchyan said.br

Siranush Zakaryan, a spokeswoman for Protected Consumer NGO, said a random survey conducted in 2017 among 719 buyers of toys and 100 representatives of toy selling companies revealed that 54% of respondents used to buy toys at nearby outlets and only 26% in specialized stores.nbsp;br

At the same time, only 6% of respondents demanded safety certificates, 41% paid more attention to the price, 38% were interested in the appearance of the toy, and 15% focused on the labeling, although nbsp;61% of respondents knew that toys could be dangerous, but only 28% were able to list the risks, such as containing toxic chemicals, infection and more.br

According to the survey among business representatives, 11% did not know that the consumer has the right to demand toy safety certificate. Moreover, 43% of sellers did not even know that each lot of toys is subject to certification; they also found it difficult to answer how many toys they had, and how many certificates. At the same time 86% of business entities noted that certification is an additional burden for them.br

As a result of discussions, it was decided to give the bodies providing toy safety certificates time – before April 2018- to solve the problem. The failure to meet the requirement may entail criminal proceedings against violators. -0-br