Plastic Goods Quality Labeling Regulation (Public Notice of the Consumer Affairs Agency No. 5 of March 30, 2017)
(Public Notice of the Consumer Affairs Agency No. 5 of 2017)
Based on the provisions of Article 3 of the Household Goods Quality Labeling Act (Act No. 104 of 1962), this public notice to fully revise the Plastic Goods Quality Labeling Regulation is hereby enacted.
(Labeling Matters)
Article 1 The matters to be indicated with respect to the quality of the plastic goods stated in the relevant left-hand columns of the following table are to be the matters stated in the relevant right-hand columns of the table; provided, however, that as provided for in Article 2, item (x), plane surfaces on which labeling matters may be indicated are less than 50 square centimeters and all of the labeling matters may not be indicated, some of the referenced labeling matters may be omitted, and the labeling matters in relation to the quality of the tableware and kitchen utensils manufactured by using synthetic rubber in a part of the product (excluding those manufactured by using synthetic rubber only in the gasket or cleat) are to be as pursuant to the Miscellaneous Manufactured Goods Quality Labeling Regulation (Public Notice of the Consumer Affairs Agency No. 7 of 2017).
(Compliance Matters)
Article 2 When indicating the labeling matters as prescribed in preceding Article, a manufacturer, seller or labeling contractor must comply with the following matters.
(i) when indicating types of synthetic resin used as raw materials (referred to below as "raw material resin"), according to the types of the raw material resin stated in the relevant left-hand columns of the following table, they must be indicated using the terms which indicate the types of the raw material resin listed respectively in the relevant right-hand columns of the following table. If a mixture of two types or more of raw material resin is used, the terms must be stated indicating the types of raw material resin in descending order of mixture ratio. If different types of raw material resin are used in two or more parts of the product, raw material resin must be indicated by labeling the parts used in an easy-to-understand manner, using terms indicating the types of each raw material resin for each part. Regarding goods molded by laminating resin and cloth, etc., a note must be added to the effect that the goods are laminated in parentheses following the term indicating the types of raw material resin;
(iii) when indicating heat resistant temperature, the temperature measured by the test method prescribed in the following table must be indicated. In this case, if different types of raw material resin are used in two or more parts of the main body or lid, etc., the heat resistant temperature of respective parts together with the term indicating the parts must be indicated;
(iv) when indicating cold resistant temperature, the temperature measured by the test method prescribed in the following table must be indicated;
(v) when indicating capacities, for 1 liter or more, the capacity must be indicated in liter units, and for less than 1 liter, the capacity must be indicated in millimeter units, and the tolerable margin in this case must be within plus 10 percent and minus 4 percent of the value indicating the capacity; provided, however, that for water bottles and water bottles for refrigerators from among tableware and kitchen utensils, it is to be within plus or minus 5 percent. In the case of water bottles with inside plugs as an accessory, the capacities must be indicated at the time when the inside plugs are set;
(vi) when indicating dimensions, they must be indicated as follows:
1. Regarding polyethylene or polypropylene bags, the vertical and horizontal lengths and the thickness of the film in millimeter units must be labeled by indicating each length corresponding to each side in an easy-to-understand manner; with regard to their vertical and horizontal lengths, the external dimensions of the product must be indicated, and with regard to the thickness of the film, the dimensions must be indicated as measured by the method of measurement prescribed in 7-3 of the Japanese Industrial Standards Z 1702 (polyethylene films for packaging), in millimeter units, respectively. In this case, the tolerable margin of error of the indicated value is to be within plus 4 percent and minus 0 percent for the vertical length, and for the horizontal length and the thickness of film, the tolerable margin of error is to be as specified in the following tables 1 and 2, respectively;
Table1 Tolerable margin of error of the indicated value of the horizontal length
Table2 Tolerable margin of error of the indicated value of the thickness of film
2. Regarding cutting boards, a minimum rectangular parallelepiped must be assumed which may accommodate the main body of the cutting board (excluding handle and other accessories), and then the length, width, and thickness of that rectangle in millimeter units must be indicated by indicating each length corresponding to each side in an easy-to-understand manner. In this case, tolerable margin of error of the indicated value is to within plus or minus 5 millimeters;
3. Regarding bathtub lids, a minimum rectangular parallelepiped must be assumed which may accommodate the main body of the bathtub lids (excluding handle and other accessories), and then the width and length must be indicated in millimeter units by indicating each length corresponding to each side in an easy-to-understand manner (for folding bathtub lids, the length of the core material, and length between the core ends must be indicated). In this case, the tolerable margin of error of indicated value is to be within plus or minus 5 millimeters for the width, and within plus or minus 10 millimeters for the length. Measurement of the width and length must be conducted by using a measuring instrument with accuracy of 1 millimeter or more with the bathtub lids in assembled or unfolded state;
(vii) when indicating the number of sheets of polyethylene or polypropylene bags, the number of sheets of the products must be indicated. In this case, the tolerable margin of error of the indicated value is to be minus 0;
(viii) when indicating precautions in handling, the labeler must indicate the matters stated in the following:
1. this product must not be placed near a fire;
2. pots and pans must not be placed at high temperature on top of the product (limited to cutting boards);
3. terpene or fat and oil contained in lemons or other citrus peel may cause the quality of this product to deteriorate (limited to those made by styrene resin);
4. this product must be used with hot water fully filled (limited to hot water bottles; the same applies in 5; provided, however that, in the case of soft resin goods, according to the quality of materials, the appropriate amount of hot water must be indicated with the expression "Fill to a maximum of two-thirds and use after squeezing out remaining air from the hot water bottle";
5. this product must not be used in close contact with the body for a long time;
6. this product must not be pressed on by hands or stood on (limited to bathtub lids);
7. there are risks of rupturing if this product is used in freezers (limited to those not designed to be cold resistant for freezer use);
8. matters to be careful of when freezing this product (limited to containers which use cold insulators);
9. with regard to products which may not be used for microwave ovens, that the goods may not be used in microwave ovens; and with regard to the goods which may be used in microwave ovens, matters to be careful of according to their usage patterns and contents (limited to containers, etc. for kitchen use and dishes or plates, etc.);
(ix) the name and address or telephone number of the labeler must be added to the label;
(x) labeling must be indicated at an accessible location and in an easy-to-understand manner for consumers for each plastic item of goods; provided, however, that the labeling of precautions in handling must be indicated in a manner that labels do not easily detach from the main unit, such as engraving or printing on the main unit, or pasting labels on it. When the plane surface on which labeling matters may be indicated is less than 50 square centimeters for which not all of the labeling matters may be indicated, among the labeling matters stated in Article 1, those labeling matters on capacity and precautions in handling may be omitted.
Supplementary Provisions
(Effective date)
(1) This Regulation comes into effect on April 1, 2017.
(Transitional Measures)
(2) Regarding labeling concerning the quality of plastic goods to be indicated up until March 31, 2018, prior laws may be applied.
Supplementary Provisions (Public Notice of the Consumer Affairs Agency No. 2 of June 28, 2019)
This public notice comes into effect on the date of enforcement of the Act partially amending the Unfair Competition Prevention Act (July 1, 2019).