European safety shoe standard in force in June

On June 1, the latest safety footwear standard EN ISO 20345:2011, approved by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) on December 14 last year, came into effect. This standard replaces the entire set of EN ISO 20345:2004/A1:2007 standards, and has new requirements in the hexavalent chromium test method, non-metallic anti-puncture bottom test method and thermal insulation performance of the safety shoes. According to the new standard, hexavalent chromium content in footwear shall not exceed 3 mg/kg when tested according to ISO 17075 Test Method for Hexavalent Chromium in Leather. From June 1st, 30 European countries such as Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, and Croatia must implement the standard.

In this regard, the inspection and quarantine department recommended that enterprises learn as soon as possible and grasp the contents of the new regulations, and do a good job responding. The first is to pay attention to the new country's standard limit for hexavalent chromium in leather. From the order to production, we must take measures to ensure compliance with the requirements. Second, if products that have already been produced to these countries cannot meet the requirements, they should actively communicate with customers to replace the inner substrate of the footwear with other safety materials to reduce export risks. The third is to do a good job in raw material procurement control and strengthen internal management. Purchasing leather raw materials containing chromium-free tanning agents as much as possible during the tanning process can control the production of hexavalent chromium at the source and strengthen the management of the storage and stacking of raw materials and semi-finished goods. Fourthly, timely testing of materials and finished products should be conducted to effectively and effectively detect the raw materials, semi-finished products and final products of the products, so as to reduce the economic losses caused by hexavalent chromium exceeding the standard and causing notifications and recalls.