Labourers work at a production line at a toy factory in Panyu, south China's Guangdong province. As Chinese-made products flood the Jamaican market, the Bureau of Standards has stepped up its monitoring procedures to make sure that the goods imported meet the required standards. – File

WITH AN explosion in the number of products imported from China, the Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ) has doubled its efforts to ensure that these items meet specific local and international requirements.

Ellis James Laing, acting manager, information at the BSJ, said the organisation continues to conduct numerous tests on products coming out of the Asian country. He said based on the fact that China is a manufacturer of a wide variety of products, ranging from clothing, electrical and mechanical items, confectioneries, toys, furniture and other household items, the tests are often just as wide, rigid and far-reaching.

Laing, however, shied away from giving a specific rating for products coming out of the country, saying that it would be unfair to advise consumers as to what to buy. He also said that advising consumers on the particular quality of products also did not fall under the ambit of the BSJ.

meet basic standards

The role of the BSJ, according to Laing, is to ensure that the products meet basic standards and are fit for consumption or usage and would not prove a health or safety risk to Jamaican consumers.

"Our role and responsibility is not necessarily to be grading in terms of a one, two, three, it's just to say whether the products have met the required standards," he said.

"The fact is, however, that some of the products may just meet particular standards," Laing said. "The quality sometimes, in terms of how we are accustomed to things in Jamaica, may be considered inferior, but they would have met all of the requirements as established by the standards that we test against," he added.

Laing further said that any products that fall below standard are immediately withdrawn from the market, particularly those that are a health or safety risk.

He said special attention is often placed on toys that may represent a choking or health hazard to children, as well as other food items and electrical tools.

Laing was quick to point out that it was not a matter of choice whether retailers and importers are asked to withdraw inferior items from the shelves but that it was mandatory.

quality concerns

With a noticeable spike in imports out of China, many consumers are growing increasingly concerned over the durability and quality of products coming out of the country.

Michelle Wright, a consumer from Spanish Town, said though she often buys products which are imported to Jamaica from China because they are affordable, she is often always wary of such products as they rarely last very long.

She noted that she was also concerned about the safety of such products, but said she had faith in the Jamaican authorities that they wouldn't allow them on the market if they presented a risk.

However, statistics coming out of the United States (US) show that the number of Chinese-made products that are being recalled in that country has doubled in the last five years, helping to drive the total number of recalls in the US to an annual record of 467 in 2006, according to ConsumerReports.org.

Chinese-made products account for 60 per cent of all consumer-product recalls, and 100 per cent of all 24 kinds of toys recalled in 2007. "Even China's own government auditing agency found that 20 per cent of the toys made and sold in China had safety hazards", the website said.

athaliah.reynolds @gleanerjm.com