Candle Standards

Update of BS EN 15494: Candles - Product safety labels

Many of you will know that CEN have been working on agreeing updates to the three main European candle standards for a couple of years now, including EN 15494 (Safety Labels).  Well the latest revision has now been released and was approved by CEN on 9 September 2019.  National standards bodies have been given until April 2020 to publish updates and BSI has already done so, with the 30 November 2019 update now available in the BSI store.  

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BS EN 15494:2019

What does this mean for me?

It is important to remember that the three European candle standards are voluntary and not legally required.  So, whilst we would recommend that you update your product labels as soon as you can, to refelect best practice, you should do so when convenient.  I.e., do not throw out any labels or packaging.

What are the changes?

The changes that have been aprroved by CEN include a few changes as follows:

  • New terms and definitions
  • New pictograms and text information
  • Going from 5 to 4 mandatory pictograms
  • Additional mandatory pictograms for certain types of candles
  • Additional optional supplementary dafety information
  • New minimum height of 5mm for pictograms

The reason for these changes is two-fold.  Firstly, the original pictograms were created a number of years ago and times have changed.  So, the rocking chair and old analog television (for example) were less identifiable to many younger people.  It also acknowledges new formats of products, such as wax warmers.

The new pictograms were selected from a wider set of submissions, following controlled tests with a broad range of people.  We first saw these pictograms in Barcelona at the 2019 World Candle Congress and have been keen to switch since then, as these are far clearer than the old ones, especially the "Never leave a burning candle unattended" pictogram.

Mandatory Pictograms/Terms

The 5 mandatory pictograms from the now superceded BS EN 15494:2007 are show below.

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This has now been reduced to 4 in EN 15494:2019 which are shown below:

 

1.  WARNING

The warning triangle remains mandatory, but can be left off if the candle has CLP labelling including the GHS 07 (Harmful) pictogram.  If GHS 07 is not present, we would recommend you include the yellow warning symbol.

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2.   NEVER LEAVE A BURNING CANDLE UNATTENDED

The "Never leave a burning candle unattended" term will remain the same, but the associated pictogram has been made clearer.

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2007 2019

 

3.  KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN AND PETS

mceclip4.png 2007 "Burn candle out of reach of children and pets"
mceclip5.png 2019 "Keep away from children and pets"

  

4.  KEEP AWAY FROM THINGS THAT CAN CATCH FIRE

mceclip6.png 2007 "Do not burn candles on or near anything that can catch fire"
mceclip7.png 2019 "Keep away from things that can catch fire"

 

Optional Pictograms/Terms

1.  KEEP CANDLES X CM APART

In EN 15494:2007, there was a 5th mandatory pictogram relating to the safe distance between candles.  As container candles have become more popular, this has now been changed to be an optional warning.

mceclip8.png 2007 "Always leave xx cm between burning candles"
mceclip9.png 2019 "Keep candles x cm apart"

 

Other Changes

There are several other changes in the 2019 standard, relating to more optional terms/pictograms and there are now mandatory pictograms for floating candles and candles that require a candleholder (i.e. votives). 

BS EN 15494:2019 can be purchased via the BSI website here.  At the time of writing, the price was £130 for non-members and £65 for members.