Toys & Childcare | Monthly bulletin | April 2021
New requirements of EU Toy Safety Directive
On 20 and 21 May 2021, the two Commission Directives (EU) 2019/1922 and 2019/1929 will come into effect. The main points of these Directives are:
|
Commission Directive (EU) 2019/1922 |
||||
|
Effective date |
Element |
mg/kg |
mg/kg |
mg/kg |
|
20/05/2021 |
Aluminium |
2 250 |
560 |
28 130 |
|
Commission Directive (EU) 2019/1929 |
|||
|
Effective date |
Substance |
CAS No |
Limit value |
|
21/05/2021 |
Formaldehyde |
50-00-0 |
1,5 mg/l (migration limit) in polymeric toy material |
New European regulatory framework for batteries
The European Commission released a proposal on 10 December 2020 related to the Batteries Directive (2006/66/EC). It was referred in Parliament and the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection is currently examining it (early stages of legislative process).
The main points of the draft are to secure the sustainability and competitiveness of batteries. It would introduce mandatory requirements on sustainability (such as carbon footprint rules, minimum recycled content, performance and durability criteria), safety and labelling for the marketing and putting into service of batteries, and requirements for end-of-life management between other points.
The aim is to modernise the European regulatory framework for batteries and it is an integral part of the Green Deal, the EU’s new growth strategy.
For more information, visit the European Commission website here.
Please see the below table summarising the most recent standards updates and upcoming dates of withdrawal (non-exhaustive):
(*) Date of withdrawal: latest date by which national standards conflicting with an EN (and HD for CENELEC) have to be withdrawn.
|
CENELEC / CEN |
|||
|
Reference |
Title |
Date of Withdrawal (*) |
Supersedes |
|
Safety of toys - Part 3: Migration of certain elements |
2021-10-31 |
|
|
Change the Green Dot to the “Triman” logo and Sorting Info in your packaging
On 15 March 2021, order N°450160, 450164 was published which requested that the obligation to remove the "Green Dot" does not apply to the French state until 1 January, 2022. This resulted in the suspension of the date of enforcement (previously 1 April 2021) on the implementation of penalties for confused logos related to waste as laid out in the Decree of 30th November 2020. This decision was taken because of the legal actions of several professional organisations which contended that this was an unjustified obstacle to the free movement of goods within the European Union.
There is thus no obligation to remove the Green Dot from packaging, unless the product is intended for another Member State of the European Union where it is mandatory, such as Spain or Cyprus.
For more information, visit the Adelphe website here (French only).
No Action Assurance for flame retardant PIP (3:1)
In March 2021, The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a 60-day public comment period to collect additional input on five final rules for persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals issued on 6th January 2021 under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
On 8 March 2021, EPA is issuing a temporary 180-day “No Action Assurance” for prohibition of flame retardant PIP (3:1) because of received comments, for example from the electronics and electrical manufacturing industry. PIP (3:1) is used as a flame retardant and a plasticizer in plastic components such as PVC wire covers and casings which can be found such as in gaming consoles.
For more information, visit the EPA website here.
Proposal and addition of substances in California Proposition 65
On 19 March 2021, The California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) noticed the state of the following substances:
- The intention to list perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) (CAS RN 335-67-1) as known to the State of California to cause cancer under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65).
- The addition of molybdenum trioxide (CAS No. 1313-27-5) and indium tin oxide (CAS No. 50926-11-9) to the list of chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer for purposes of Proposition 65. The listing of these chemicals is pursuant to the “Labor Code” listing mechanism.
For more information, visit the OEHHA website here.
Please see below a summary list of recent the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) publications:
- Consumer product safety standard for high chairs (ASTM F404-20) under section 104 of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA). The rule is effective from 3 July 2021, unless CPSC receives a significant adverse comment by 3 May 2021.
- CPSC has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a new proposed collection of information for a survey that will evaluate consumer awareness of infant sleep product warning labels.
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Warning Label Comprehension and Interpretation by Consumers for Children's Sleep Environments - Reseller's Guide to Selling Safer Products. The aim of this information is to help to resellers keep unsafe products out of the hands of consumers.
Health Canada's Consumer Product Safety Program recent publications
On 22 February 2021, Health Canada published the updated Industry guide to the Glazed Ceramics and Glassware Regulations (GCGR). It is an unofficial summary of the safety requirements for glazed ceramic and glassware under the GCCR. Lead and Cadmium are very toxic and can cause serious health problems when ingested, especially to children. Even small amounts of lead can cause learning and behaviour problems in children.
The following test methodologies have been updated in April:
|
Type of methods |
Title |
Effective date |
|
Chemistry |
Determination of Total Lead and Cadmium in Plastic Consumer Products by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) (C02.3.1) |
2021-02-22 |
|
Chemistry |
Determination of Total Lead in Plastic Consumer Products by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) (C02.3.2) |
2021-02-22 |
|
Mechanical |
Sharp Edges (M00.2) |
2020-12-07 |
|
Mechanical |
Sharp Points (M00.3) |
2021-01-15 |
|
Mechanical |
Rattles (M05) |
2021-02-12 |
|
Mechanical |
Pacifiers and other Similar Consumer Products (M09) |
2021-03-29 |
|
Mechanical |
Bassinets (M12.3) |
2021-01-26 |
|
Mechanical |
Accessories and Stands (M12.4) |
2021-03-12 |
|
Mechanical |
Magnetic Toys (M18) |
2021-02-04 |
|
Flammability |
Combustion resistance of mattresses (F06) |
2020-12-01 |
|
Flammability |
Cellulose insulation (F08) |
2020-11-30 |
China publishes updated GB Standards
On 13 April, 2021, China National Standardization (SAC) approved, in the announcement Nº4 of 2021, the Issuance of the following recommended national standards:
|
No. |
Standard No. |
Standard Name |
Superseded Standard |
Implementation Date |
|
1 |
GB/T 28004.1-2021 |
Partial replacement: |
2022-05-01 |
|
|
2 |
GB/T 28022-2021 |
GB/T 28022-2011 |
2021-04-13 |
|
|
3 |
GB/T 40227-2021 |
|
2021-11-01 |
China publishes updated Standards
On 19 April 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China published Announcement Nº 6 of 2021, in which 563 industry standards were approved. Among them were, 60 textile industry standards, and 112 chemical industry standards, as well as other standards from different industries.
Regulatory proposals notified to WTO
The table below summarises the most recent notifications made to the World Trade Organization (WTO) (non-exhaustive):
|
Notification number |
Countries |
Title |
|
Egypt |
The Ministerial Decree No. 609 /2020 gives the producers and importers a six-month transitional period to abide by the Egyptian standard ES 3123-7. This standard specifies requirements for the substances and materials used in finger paints and applies to finger paints only. Additional requirements are specified for markings, labelling and containers. It is worth mentioning that this standard adopts the technical content of EN 71-7:2014+A3:2020 |
|
|
Egypt |
The Ministerial Decree No. 609 /2020 mandating the Egyptian Standard ES 3123-8 "Safety of toys - Part 8: Activity toys for domestic use". |
|
|
Egypt |
The Ministerial Decree No. 610 /2020 mandating the Egyptian Standard ES 7094 "Child use and care articles - Soothers for babies and young children - Safety requirements and test methods" |
|
|
China |
National Standards of the P.R.C, General Safety Technical Specification for Infants and Children Paper Products |
|
|
China |
National Standard of the P.R.C., Lithium Ion Cells and Batteries Used in Portable Electronic Equipments - Safety Technical Specification |
|
|
China |
National Standard of the P.R.C., Safety Technical Specifications for Children's Footwear |
|
|
Korea |
A draft revision of safety verification criteria for Portable Laser Devices |
|
|
Korea |
A draft revision of safety criteria for children's product |
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 29 alerts regarding Childcare articles, equipment and toys have been reported, from week 12 to week 15 of 2021.
|
Type of Risk |
Number of alerts |
Notes |
|
Chemical |
13 |
Stationery: It contains bisphenol A (measured value up to 1,02% by weight) and it does not comply with the REACH Regulation |
|
Chemical, Environment |
1 |
Battery-operated toy: The soldered joints of the toy contain an excessive amount of lead. It does not comply with the Directive 2011/65/EU (RoHS) and EN 62321-5. |
|
Choking |
6 |
Small parts. Does not comply with EN 71-1 |
|
Choking, Injuries |
1 |
Train set: It has small parts and magnets that can detach from the toy and possess a high magnetic flux. It does not comply with the Toy Safety Directive and EN 71-1. |
|
Damage to hearing |
1 |
Educational toy: The sound level produced by the toy is too high. It does not comply with the Toy Safety Directive and EN 71-1. |
|
Entrapment, Suffocation |
1 |
Sleeping bag: There is an opening in the sleeping bag that allows the finger of the baby to penetrate. Furthermore, the top stop of the slide fastener at the neck opening is placed on the top instead of bottom of the product. It does not comply with the General Product Safety Directive and EN 16781:2018. |
|
Injuries |
1 |
Swing: it is not sufficiently resistant to load. It does not comply with the Toy Safety Directive and EN 71-8. |
|
Other |
1 |
Heart-shaped balloons: The sealed bag with liquid inside the gift contains a highly concentrated citric acid. It does not comply with the Toy Safety Directive and EN 71-4. |
|
Strangulation |
1 |
Bedside sleeper: The distance from the highest surface of the mattress to the top of the drop side is smaller than the required 120 mm. It does not comply with the General Product Safety Directive and EN 1130. |
|
Suffocation |
1 |
Sleeping bag: The top stop of the slide fastener at the arm opening is placed on the top instead of bottom of the product. Furthermore, the neck opening is too large in relation to the child height/age. It does not comply with the General Product Safety Directive and EN 16781:2018. |
RASFF (European Commission Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed - Alerts reported by EU national authorities)
The following 4 alerts regarding Food Contact Materials related to children's tableware were reported from March 2021 to April 2021.
|
Product |
Substance / Hazard |
|
|
Bamboo cups |
Migration of formaldehyde (18.0 mg/kg - ppm) and of melamine (5.2 mg/kg - ppm) |
|
|
Silicone cups for babies |
Migration of volatile organic constituents (1.1 %) |
|
|
Plastic cups |
Unauthorised use of bamboo in plastic cups |
|
|
Plates |
Migration of formaldehyde (19.3 and 16.2 mg/kg - ppm) from melamine |
From 21 March 2021 to 20 April 2021, CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) published the following recalls: 2 recalls regarding Childcare and children’s products
|
Hazard |
Number of alerts |
Notes |
|
Choking |
1 |
Infant Teethers: The plastic wings can detach from the body of the teether. |
