Commission opinion within the framework of Council Directive 73/23/EEC relating to electrical equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits — Safety of toasters (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2002-12-04
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European standard, electrical equipment, household electrical appliance, product safety, technical regulations

C 300/14

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

4.12.2002

within the framework of Council Directive 73/23/EEC relating to electrical equipment designed for
use within certain voltage limits

COMMISSION OPINION

Safety of toasters

(2002/C 300/04)

(Text with EEA relevance)

electronic timer) and in compliance with the requirements of
the above mentioned standard might not comply with the
requirements of the LVD with regard to foreseeable external
influences on electrical equipment. Due to the absence of
adequate
safety,
EN 60335-2-9 cannot necessarily guarantee full compliance
with the Low-voltage Directive.

in relation to functional

specifications

the Commission is of

the opinion that EN
Therefore,
60335-2-9 as listed in the above mentioned publication in
the Official Journal of the European Communities is not regarded
as giving rise to a presumption of conformity with the safety
objectives laid down in Annex I, sections 1(d) and 3 to
Directive 73/23/EEC.

The above conclusions were supported by national experts of
national administrations at
the Low-voltage
Working Party of 11 December 2001.

the meeting of

The European standards body Cenelec has been asked by the
Commission to ensure that
the abovementioned hazards
associated with functional safety are adequately addressed in
a revised version of this standard.

relevant

electrical

equipment with

Therefore, in the absence of a revision to the abovementioned
standard, manufacturers, when
harmonised
establishing
the
of
compliance
Low-voltage Directive, will need to take additional measures
in order to ensure that equipment designed and manufactured
in accordance with EN 60335-2-9,
safety
objectives laid down in Annex I, sections 1(d) and 3 to
Directive 73/23/EEC. This may require a risk analysis and
assessment in order to ensure that the equipment is designed
and manufactured in such a way as to reduce, as far as is
reasonably possible, the risks related to the functional safety
of electrical appliances.

satisfies

the

Member States' authorities should take account of this opinion
in the context of market surveillance.

This opinion is based on Article 9 of Council Directive
73/23/EEC of 19 February 1973 relating
to electrical
equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits (1). It
refers to the application of Article 5 of that Directive.

In accordance with Article 5 of Directive 73/23/EEC, references
to harmonised standards EN 60335-1 and EN 60335-2-9 were
published in the Official Journal of the European Communities (2).

Those standards, adopted by the European standards body
Cenelec, are as follows:

— EN 60335-1 Safety of household and similar appliances

— Part 1: General requirements.

— EN 60335-2-9 Safety of household and similar appliances

— Part 2: Particular

requirements

for

toasters, grills,

roasters and similar portable cooking appliances.

the safeguard clause
In the context of an application of
procedure in accordance with Article 9 of the Low-voltage
Directive,
standard
EN 60335-2-9, applied in conjunction with EN 60335-1,
has been brought to the attention of the Commission.

in the harmonised

shortcoming

a

This notification refers to the risks associated with functional
safety of electrical appliances covered by EN 60335-2-9. This
standard,
in its current version, does not adequately address
functional safety in terms of protection against electromagnetic
disturbances and normally occurring voltage transients from
the main electricity supply. The safety objectives, as laid
down in Annex I, sections 1(d) and 3 to Directive 73/23/EEC
require that electrical equipment should be designed and manu-
factured so as to ensure that protection against hazards which
influences in expected
may be caused by non-mechanical
environmental
electrical
appliances which are electronically controlled (e.g. with an

assured. Therefore,

conditions

is

(1) OJ L 77, 26.3.1973, Directive as amended by Directive 93/68/EEC

(OJ L 220, 30.8.1993, p. 1).

(2) OJ C 57, 4.3.2002, p. 1.