Unsatisfactory safety characteristics of the tested lighting chains

Market Surveillance Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and market inspection authorities of the BiH entities and Brčko District of BiH conducted proactive market surveillance of lighting chains (New Year's decorative lights). The aim of the surveillance was to check the safety characteristics of lighting chains, i.e. whether and to what extent these products pose a danger to the safety of users. Also, the aim was to determine whether there have been any improvements compared to the results of surveillance in 2022. However, the results of the surveillance in 2023 were very bad, worse than those in 2022. 

Lighting chains are considered safe if they comply with the requirements specified by the Order on electrical equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits (Official Gazette of BiH, 98/09) and the standards BAS EN 60598-1 and BAS EN60598-2-20.

During the implementation of proactive surveillance, 15 inspection controls were conducted. Inspectors performed administrative and visual control of the lighting chains on the market and took 11 samples for laboratory testing. Laboratory tests showed that 10 samples (90.9%) did not comply with the safety requirements of the Order on electrical equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits.

Risk assessment showed that all the non-compliant models of lighting chains pose serious risk to consumers, since they pose risk of electric shock and fire.

Based on the ordered measures and the activities undertaken, 10 models of non-compliant lighting chains (total of 5498 products) were withdrawn from the market and destroyed.