The European Union has banned the sale of the Wuxi (Jiang) FIE fencing uniforms. This comes from the weekly report fromt the EU’s Consumer Affairs division under "RAPEX" – the rapid alert system for non-food products.
This is not the first problem for the "Wuxi" brand. In March 2007 the FIE responded to claims that Wuxi had a "secret deal" with the FIE to have a Chinese manufacturer gain FIE certification in time for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
{sidebar id=1}According to the Rapex report: "The product poses a risk of injuries because, despite claims, the garments do not meet the requirements for Level 2 penetration resistance (a mean value above 800 N). A level of protection below the minimum 800 N required will expose users to the risk of injury.
The product does not comply with the Personal Protective Equipment Directive and the relevant European standard EN 13567."
In March, the FIE stated:
"The mask 1600W, the uniform and sub-plastron 800NW of the WuXi company have just successfully passed the tests of the CRITT, which delivered the attached certificates. The homologation process of the material submitted by the WuXi company is therefore at a final stage of achievement."
The UK importer of the Wuxi line is reported to have begun a voluntary recall and EU officials have banned the sale of the "Beijing FIE 800N Jacket & Beijing FIE 800N Breeches" imported from Wuxi.
references:
January RAPEX Report: http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/dyna/rapex/create_rapex.cfm?rx_id=218
FIE Letter: http://www.fie.ch/download/letters/2007/urgent/06/en/Lettre%20urgente%20%206-07-ANG.pdf
