Toys & Childcare | Monthly bulletin | March 2021

EUROPE

Harmonised marking specifications for wet wipes

In December 2020, the European Commission published regulation related to single-use plastics which indicates harmonised marking specifications for wet wipes and other single-use products (Regulation (EU) 2020/2151).

In March 2021, the European Commission published the following documents about this Regulation:

A corrigendum which provides a translation of wording for standard marking official languages of the EU Member States. Previously, this was only available in English in some national language versions. Following, the official publication:

Corrigendum to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2151 of 17 December 2020 laying down rules concerning harmonized specifications relating to the marking of single-use plastic products listed in part D of the annex to Directive (EU) 2019/904 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment (“Official Journal of the European Union” L 428 of 18 December 2020).
An information notice that has a weblink to the vectorised pictograms, where you can find harmonised marking requirements in all official languages of the EU Member States. Following, the official publication:

Information notice on marking specifications for single-use plastic products 2021/C 89/05

To read Eurofins’ news about the Regulation (EU) 2020/2151, visit Eurofins Product Testing website here.

Childcare articles made from bamboo fibres and melamine

In the February edition of Eurofins Monthly Bulletin, news about Food Contact Bamboo-Melamine Plastics was published.

Other EU Member States have also published notes and informative documents on the use of this material that are not in the Union List of the Food Contact Plastics Regulation. Please see below, the authorities’ publications:

Country	Authority	Publication
Finland	Finnish Food Authority (Ruokavirasto)	The import or sale of plastic food contact materials containing bamboo fibre or unauthorised vegetable fibres is not allowed.
Ireland	Food Safety Authority of Ireland	Plastic Food Contact Materials Containing Substances Derived from Bamboo.
Spain	Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (Agencia Española de Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición, AESAN)	Note regarding the measures taken in relation to the marketing of plastic objects intended to come into contact with foods whose composition includes bambo or fibres of other unauthorized plant material.

SVHCs list public consultation

On 9 March 2021, The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) opened a public consultation on proposed substances of very high concern (SVCHs) to be included in the Candidate list in the 25th update, in summer 2021. You can send comments until 23 April 2021.

The proposed substances are:

Name	EC number	CAS number	Consumer uses
1,4-dioxane	204-661-8	123-91-1	There are no consumer uses, but it cannot be excluded that there are uses of substances or related mixtures, where 1,4-dioxane is contained as constituent or impurity.
2,2-bis(bromomethyl)propane1,3-diol (BMP) 2,2-dimethylpropan-1-ol, tribromo derivative/3-bromo-2,2-bis(bromomethyl)-1-propanol (TBNPA) 2,3-dibromo-1-propanol (2,3-DBPA)	221-967-7 253-057-0 202-480-9	3296-90-0 36483-57-5 1522-92-5 96-13-9	Polymer production manufacture of plastics products
2-(4-tert-butylbenzyl)propionaldehyde and its individual stereoisomers	-	-	It is used in many different uses such as coatings and paints, thinners, paint removes; Fillers, putties, plasters, modelling clay; Finger paints, Ink and toners
4,4'-(1-methylpropylidene)bisphenol; (bisphenol B)	201-025-1	77-40-7	It may be used in the manufacture of phenolic and polycarbonate resins and it has a structure similar to Bisphenol A.
Glutaral	203-856-5	111-30-8	In leather tanning, finishing, impregnation and cosmetics/personal care between other uses.
Medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (MCCP) [UVCB substances consisting of more than or equal to 80% linear chloroalkanes with carbon chain lengths within the range from C14 to C17]	-	-	In rubber articles; Paper products; Textile (fabrics, textiles, apparel, and leather articles); PVC (plastic articles); Production of cables (machinery, mechanical appliances, electrical/electronic articles).
Orthoboric acid, sodium salt	237-560-2	13840-56-7	Uses include solvent and corrosion inhibitor
Phenol, alkylation products (mainly in para position) with C12-rich branched or linear alkyl chains from oligomerisation, covering any individual isomers and/ or combinations thereof (PDDP)	-	-	The substance is further used in the manufacture of chemicals, rubber products and plastic products.

For more information, the official publication in ECHA website here.

FRANCE

Safety in childcare articles

In February 2021, The Direction générale de la concurrence, de la consummation et de la répression des fraudes (DGCCRF) published several articles on childcare products and their safety. The relevant publications were related to the following topics:

New UK authorities publications and updates

UK authorities have updated the following guidance, documents, and corrigendum in relation to import, export and customs for businesses (non-exhaustive list):

Apply for authorisation for the UK Trader Scheme if you bring goods into Northern Ireland
Agreements reached between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the European Union
Rules of origin for goods moving between the UK and EU
E-Alert relating to Legislation number: 2020 No.1647 - The Hazardous Substances and Packaging (Legislative Functions and Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 SCHEDULE A1:
The concentration value of Cadmium, currently given as 0.1% instead of 0.01% in Schedule A1 of SI 2020 No.1647, is a typographical error.
A formal amendment to correct the error will be implemented shortly.
You should, therefore, continue to work to the 0.01% threshold for Cadmium under the RoHS Regulations.

U.S.

Toxic-Free Kids Act: Implementation of Phase 3

On 1 March 2021, the Oregon Health Authority published Phase 3 of the Toxic-Free Kids Act which requires manufacturers of children's products sold in Oregon to report products that contain one or more high priority chemicals of concern for children's health (HPCCCH), and ultimately remove these chemicals, look for an alternative to make the product less hazardous or seek a waiver approved by the Authority.

This Phase indicates detailed requirements for manufacturers of three specific categories of children's products:

Children under three years old;
"mouthable" items, per ORS 431A.253(8); and
Children's cosmetics.

For getting the HPCCCH list, consult the Oregon Health Authority website here.

The ban on phthalates in toys and childcare articles is maintained

In 2017, The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued the final rule prohibiting children's toys and child care articles that contain concentrations of more than 0.1 percent of diisononyl phthalate (DINP), diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP), di-n-pentyl phthalate (DPENP), di-n-hexyl phthalate (DHEXP), and dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP). The rule became effective on April 25 2018.

In 2021, a federal court rejected most of the arguments made by the chemical industry to throw out this ban and maintain the CPSC ban on harmful phthalate chemicals out of kids’ plastic toys and other children’s products, like pacifiers and teething rings.

But the federal court found flaws in the CPSC’s rulemaking process. The agency will now have an opportunity to fix those errors before the court takes up any remaining issues with the ban.

New requirements for packaging and packaging components

In February 2021, the Model Toxics in Packaging Legislation was updated by the Toxics in Packaging Clearinghouse (TPCH).

This Legislation was developed in 1989 to reduce the amount of heavy metals in packaging and packaging components. TPCH Model Legislation prohibit the intentional use of lead, cadmium, mercury and chromium (VI) in any finished package or packaging component, as well as limiting, the total incidental concentration to 100 parts per million by weight (0.01%). This legislation was adopted by nineteen states: California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

The main changes are as follows:

The sum of the concentration levels of phthalates should not exceed 100 parts per million by weight (0.01%).
Prohibition of sale or distribution of a package or packaging components containing PFAS.
Criteria for the identification and prohibition of packaging chemicals of high concern

This legislation shall become effective immediately upon adoption.

To read the official news, visit the TPCH’s website here.

Standards updates

The table below summarises some recent ASTM standards updates:

Reference	Title
ASTM F3458 - 21	Standard Specification for Marketing, Packaging, and Labeling Adult Magnet Sets Containing Small, Loose, Powerful Magnets (with a Flux Index ≥50 kG2 mm2)

HONG KONG

Update of Safety standards for toys and children products

On 19 February 2021, the Government of Hong Kong published an amendment related to Toys and Children's Products Safety Ordinance (Cap. 424). This notice updates some safety standards for toys and children’s products which are in Schedule 1 and 2 of the Ordinance. It comes into effect on 1 October 2021.

The main points of this notice are:

Schedule 1 toy standards
Repeal the current standard	The current standard is Substituted by
ISO 8124-3:2010 (incorporating Amendment 2:2018)	ISO 8124-3:2020
BS EN 71-7:2014+A2:2018	BS EN 71-7:2014+A3:2020
Schedule 2 product standards
Repeal the current standard	The current standard is Substituted by
ASTM F1427-13	ASTM F1427-19
BS EN 14988:2017	BS EN 14988:2017+A1:2020
ISO 8124-3:2010 (incorporating Amendment 2:2018)	ISO 8124-3:2020

The official publication of the Toys and Children’s Products Safety Ordinance (Amendment of Schedules 1 and 2) Notice 2021 here.

AUSTRALIA/ NEW ZEALAND

New publication standard for Safety of Toys

On 12 February 2021, the standard AS/NZS ISO 8124.3:2021 Safety of Toys, Part 3: Migration of certain elements was published by Standard Australian and Standard New Zealand. It identically adopts ISO 8124-3:2020, which specifies maximum acceptable levels and methods of sampling, extraction and determination for the migration of antimony, arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury and selenium from toy materials and from parts of toys. It does not apply to packaging materials, unless they are intended to be kept, for example boxes and containers, or unless they form part of the toy or have intended play value.

INTERNATIONAL

Regulatory proposals notified to WTO

Please see the below table summarising the most recent notifications made to the World Trade Organization (WTO) (non-exhaustive):

Notification number	Countries	Title
G/TBT/N/KOR/944	Korea	A draft revision of safety criteria for children's products Concentration of Diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP) have been included in safety criteria of children's product.
G/TBT/N/THA/598	Thailand	Draft Ministerial Regulation on Playground equipment for public use - Part 1: Additional specific safety requirements and test method for Swings (TIS 3000-1:2562(2019))
G/TBT/N/THA/599	Thailand	Draft Ministerial Regulation on Playground equipment for public use - Part 2: Additional specific safety requirements and test method for Slides (TIS 3000-2:2562(2019))
G/TBT/N/THA/600	Thailand	Draft Ministerial Regulation on Playground equipment for public use - Part 3: Carousels (TIS 3000-3:2563(2020))
G/TBT/N/THA/601	Thailand	Draft Ministerial Regulation on Playground equipment for public use - Part 4: Rocking equipment (TIS 3000-4:2563(2020))

PRODUCT RECALLS / ALERTS

Below you will find a monthly summary table of product recalls and alerts in Europe (Source “RAPEX” and “RASFF”) and in the US (Source “CPSC”).

Europe

RAPEX (European Commission Rapid Alert System for dangerous non-food products – Alerts reported by EU national authorities).

The following 44 alerts regarding Childcare articles, equipment and toys have been reported, from week 8 to week 11 of 2021.

Type of Risk	Number of alerts	Notes
Burns	1	Children's costume: Article does not comply with the requirements of the Toy Safety Directive and the relevant European standard EN 71-2 flammability.
Chemical	12	Plastic toy: Article contains bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP), diisononyl phthalate (DINP). Does not comply with the REACH Regulation.
		Balloons: The amount of N-nitrosatable and nitrosatable substances generating n-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) substances released by the balloons is too high. It does not comply with the Toy Safety Directive and EN 71-12.
		Milliard-Mattress-Comfort-System (Childcare): It contains dimethylformamide and does not comply with the REACH Regulation.
		Toy slime: The migration of boron from the toy slime is too high. It does not comply with the REACH Regulation and the Toy Safety Directive and EN 71-3.
Choking	25	Small parts. Does not comply with EN 71-1
		Squeezy toys: They have small parts that a small child may put in their mouth and choke.
		Fishing game: The small magnetic parts have a high magnetic flux and can easily become detached.
Entrapment, Injuries	1	Climbing triangle: The toy is not sufficiently stable and could easily tip over, causing injuries to the child. Moreover there is a risk of entrapment because a child can get its head stuck between the sticks of the toy.
Injuries	4	Toy pushchair and highchair: They are not sufficiently resistant to load and the locking device of the toy does not work properly
Microbiological	1	Squeezable toy: The total count of aerobic mesophilic bacteria in this product's filling liquid is too high.

RASFF (European Commission Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed - Alerts reported by EU national authorities).

The following 2 alerts regarding Food Contact Materials related to children's tableware were reported from January 2021 to March 2021.

Product	Substance / Hazard
Silicone children's tableware	Migration of volatile organic constituents (0.83 %)	Details
Kitchenware set for kids	Unauthorised use of bamboo	Details

From 21 February 2021 to 20 March of 2021, CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) published the following recalls: 1 recall regarding Childcare and children’s products.

Type of Risk	Number of alerts	Notes
Laceration	1	Plush toys: The metal wire in the shepherd’s staff can become exposed.