Deadline nears on CE marking

I would like to give a final reminder to all manufacturers of frames and lenses as well as to all glazing laboratories (assemblers), whether in industrial or high-street practice locations, that the transitional period to comply with the Medical Devices Directive ends on June 13. After that time manufacturers (including importers) cannot supply non-CE marked frames and lenses, and assemblers must have in place a declaration stating that they only put together CE marked frames and lenses. The sole exception to this is an item legitimately in the distribution chain, (ie that has left the factory gate) and is held in stock by opticians and assemblers on that date. It is our understanding that these non-CE marked products may be legitimately sold until June 2001. All manufacturers and assemblers must have registered with the Medical Devices Agency before June 13, using Form RG2, and hopefully will have done so by now, thanks to the attention the directive has received from optician and other publications. However, if any readers are still struggling with their interpretation of the regulations we do have some copies of our final seminar notes available (including all necessary draft documentation). Interested parties may obtain them from the Federation of Manufacturing Opticians at 37/41 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4JH by sending a cheque for &\#163;10, payable to Fight for Sight. (FMO tel: 0171 405 8101). Two final update items to those seminar notes: there is now a code for assembly of spectacles - L5 Prescribed Spectacles - and 'distributors' of registered EU manufacturers do not need to complete a Form RG2 after all. Ian Crowther Chairman, MDD Group