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USA: CPSC updates safety standard for infant swings

SEPTEMBER 2022 - TOYS AND CHILDREN'S PRODUCTS

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has released a direct final rule¹ updating the Federal safety standard for infant swings (16 CFR Part 1223) to incorporate the latest revisions to the ASTM voluntary standard F2088-22, with no modifications. The rule is effective on 1 January 2023, unless a significant adverse comment is received by 20 October this year.

ASTM F2088-22² contains substantive changes to the specified warning statement for infant swings in Section 8.6 Warning Statements. Specifically, in Section 8.6.1 Infant Swing, the revised standard changes the wording in the last warning bullet, as follows (changes are underscored):

• ASTM F2088-21: 
  Stay near and watch the infant during use. This product is not safe for unsupervised use or unattended sleep.
• ASTM F2088-22: 
  Stay near and watch the baby during use. This product is not safe for sleep or unsupervised use. If the baby falls asleep, remove the baby as soon as possible and place the baby on firm, flat sleep surfaces such as a crib or bassinet.

CPSC staff concludes the wording change to the fall and strangulation warning is an improvement to safety. The personal tone by using the word “baby”, as opposed to “infant”, the specific guidance that the product is “not safe for sleep”, and the specific directions to move the infant to a safe sleep product such as a crib or bassinet, all provide consumers with clear and concise instructions for safe use of an infant swing. Additionally, the statement is consistent with CPSC’s new infant sleep product rule³, in that it addresses infants sleeping in products that are not intended for infant sleep.

[1]  Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 181, 20 September 2022

[2]  ASTM F2088-22

[3]  USA: CPSC Published New Regulations on Infant Sleepers, June 2021