Last week we started a discussion on the dangers of chemicals in children’s toys and what the U.S. is doing to ramp up its oversight and regulation of the market. We addressed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 and today we’re going to look at another component of that act.

Third-party inspections are common practice when purchasing a house, ending a lease on a vehicle or going through medical testing. Now, thanks to the 2008 Act, it’s also a part of toy regulation. All toys intended for use by children aged 12 and younger require third-party certification.

This puts an additional duty on the product manufacturer to ensure that any toy made in the U.S. or imported to the U.S. meets all requirements and undergoes a certification process based on tests run by an independent laboratory that’s been accredited by the Commission.

For the past year, the Commission has been issuing accreditation procedures to labs across the country. At the end of this month, this phase of the process will be complete.

Moving forward, every toy made for children 12 and younger must arrive with a certificate in order to be sold in U.S. stores. The certificate has four important requirements, it must:

• Be in English
• Include the identity of the manufacturer or private labeler
• Include the date and place of manufacturing, and
• Include the date and place of testing

Once toys arrive at retail stores, all certificates are checked before placing the products on the shelves. The lack of a certificate prohibits the product from importation or distribution within the U.S.

We believe these additional testing requirements may give parents some peace of mind – that their children are no longer guinea pigs of toy manufacturers. In essence, the Commission forces manufacturers to take accountability for their products or force severe consequences.

For toys intended for use by children 12 and older, the rules are different. Testing and certificates are still required, but such toys do not need to go through a third-party accredited laboratory. The certificate that accompanies these products simply says it complies with all consumer and safety regulations and standards.

Manufacturers have until Feb. 10, 2010 before they must issue certificates.

We’ve spent the last two weeks addressing toy safety and the new Act, but we want to know what other questions you have? What concerns haven’t been addressed? Do you think the Act goes far enough to protect our kids?