Child-Resistant Packaging

CPSC Packaging Requirements

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has established packaging requirements for products commonly found around the house. Per CPSC child-resistant packaging requirements, you must use child-resistant packaging if the following criteria are met:

• The product poses a risk of injury or illness to children under the age of five, who can open the package and consume or handle its contents
• The technology exists, or can otherwise be developed, to produce child-resistant packaging for such products
• The packaging can be completed with modern mass production and assembly techniques
• The packaging will adequately preserve the integrity of the product and not interfere with its intended storage or use.
  
  

Some of the most apparent types of products that require child-resistant packaging include dietary supplements, chemicals, OTC medications, nicotine, and herbal medicine. But even seemingly innocuous cosmetics, lawn and garden products, and even mouthwash way require CR packaging.

When it comes to determining whether a product requires child-resistant packaging certification, the CPSC must consider the following factors:

• Reasonableness of the standard
• Available medical, scientific, and engineering data concerning special packaging and childhood accidental ingestions, illness, and injury caused by household substances
• Manufacturing practices of industries affected by the PPPA; and
• The nature and use of the household substance.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the regulations related to dispensing medications in child-resistant packaging?

With few exceptions, CPSC packaging requirements apply to any drug intended for human consumption, prepared in dosage form, and intended for oral administration upon a verbal or written prescription of a practitioner licensed by law to administer such a drug. These, along with aspirin-containing products, fall under the authority of the Poison Prevention Packaging Act.

How does child-resistant pharmaceutical packaging work?

At the heart of its mission, child-resistant pharmaceutical packaging aims to bar young children from easy access to potentially harmful substances. Innovative design, such as caps and lids that can only operate by using one hand, and safety labelings, such as certification and packaging statements, work confluently to minimize the curve of putting children at risk.