Amazon.com, the world’s largest online retailer, recently informed all companies selling refrigerator water filters that a general listing restriction has been added for this product type. All refrigerator water filters listed on Amazon.com must be certified to NSF/ANSI 42.
The certification must include material safety, structural integrity and performance reduction claims. Companies have the option of also having their products tested and certified to NSF/ANSI 53 if they are marketing health effects reduction claims, and to NSF/ANSI 401 if they are marketing the reduction of emerging contaminants. Certification must be conducted by independent organizations accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) such as IAPMO, NSF and WQA.
Companies selling products on Amazon.com need to provide the following information to homeimprovementcontact@amazon.com:
• ASIN
• Water filter brand
• Water filter manufacturer
• Model number
• Certification standard
• Certification agency
Companies have until May 10, 2017, to provide this information to Amazon.com or their products may be suppressed. Suppressed listings are not visible to buyers.
Amazon’s actions follow the introduction of the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers’ (AHAM) “Filter it Out” campaign. AHAM is working with its members and accredited certification bodies (IAPMO, NSF, and WQA) to help inform consumers that not all water filters are the same. For more information on the Filter it Out campaign, please visit filteritout.org. IAPMO, a strong supporter of ANSI-accredited product certification programs, is working with AHAM to help reduce the sale of counterfeit water filters.
Companies selling products on Amazon.com that are certified by an accredited agency need to forward the required documentation to Amazon. Companies whose products are not certified are encouraged to contact IAPMO or other accredited certification bodies to initiate testing and certification. IAPMO has reserved test benches to accommodate NSF/ANSI 42 test requests for refrigerator filter companies that need quick turnaround times.
For more information on IAPMO’s product testing and certification program please contact Tina Donda at tina.donda@iapmort.org, (708) 995-3018 or visit www.iapmort.org.
