The State Administration for Market Regulation ("SAMR") has recently formulated and issued the Circular on Further Intensifying Supervisory Checks of Quality and Safety of Everyday Plastic Items, Children's Toys and Disposable Sanitary Products (the "Circular").
The Circular states that, in response to media reports concerning the practices of some enterprises "breaking up the recycled medical waste into plastic particles which are then used to process and make such everyday plastic items as mesh bags, plastic bags used for containing vegetables, drinking cups and washbasin, and children's toys", regulators will tighten their supervisory checks to look into the quality and safety of everyday plastic items, children's toys and disposable sanitary products. For this purpose, the Circular sets out clear requirements in six aspects. The first is urging enterprises to fulfill their primary responsibilities for product quality and safety; the second is strengthening the targeted regulation; the third is tightening routine checks; the fourth is stepping up efforts to address issues; the fifth is putting into effect the credit-based regulation; and the sixth is advocating the public oversight. The Circular requires that enterprises are urged to strictly abide by relevant State laws and regulations and observe the compulsory national standards concerning toy safety and sanitary standard for disposable sanitary products and maintain stricter and more effective control over the quality of raw materials they purchase, to prevent the use of the banned raw materials or substandard raw materials in the production process.