Toys & Childcare | Monthly bulletin | February 2021
EUROPE
EN 71-4:2020 Safety of Toys on Experimental Sets for Chemistry and Related Activities Published
In December 2020, a new version of the EN 71-4:2020 Safety of Toys – Part 4: Experimental Sets for Chemistry and Related Activities was published by the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN).
Read full news here.
BENELUX
The end of the bamboo period is near
On 15 February 2021, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg (Benelux) published a joint letter on the use of bamboo or other unauthorised additives in plastic materials that come into contact with food and are placed on the EU market.
In this statement, Benelux requests immediate withdrawal of “bamboo-melamine” materials and articles from the EU market and states that the Benelux countries will reinforce their market controls from the second quarter of 2021.
Nowadays, Bamboo tableware, such as reusable coffee cups or children’s tableware with attractive designs (featuring cartoons and many colours), are popular and easy to find in most shops. However, these types of materials can carry a risk of additives, such as formaldehyde, penetrating them at a higher than permissible value when in contact with hot food or drink and so they pose a health risk to adults and children (up to 3 years).
According to Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 on food contact materials, all articles must comply with the requirements of Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 (plastic materials).
Benelux remark in this letter that these types of articles made of bamboo-melamine contain unauthorised additives and do not comply with the above European requirements. Therefore, business operators would have to withdraw their products from the EU market because they fail to comply with the regulatory requirement.
UK
UK Manufacturing guidelines
UK authorities have updated the following guidance in relation to the UKCA and UKNI marking (non-exhaustive list):
U.S.
Standards updates
See below a table summarising the most recent ASTM standards updates:
|
Reference |
Title |
|
Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Children's Chairs and Stools |
|
|
Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Child Safety Locks and Latches for Use with Cabinet Doors and Drawers |
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 |
|
Europe |
Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning batteries and waste batteries, repealing Directive 2006/66/EC and amending Regulation (EU) No 2019/1020 (COM(2020)798. |
PRODUCT RECALLS / ALERTS
Below you will find a monthly summary table of product recalls and alerts in Europe (Source “RAPEX”) and in the U.S. (Source “CPSC”).
Europe
RAPEX (European Commission Rapid Alert System for dangerous non-food products – Alerts reported by EU national authorities).
The following 35 alerts regarding Childcare articles, equipment and toys have been reported, from week 4 to week 7 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 |
10 |
Plastic toy: Article contains bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP), diisononyl phthalate (DINP). Does not comply with the REACH Regulation. |
|
Toy slime: Article contains an excessive amount of 5-Chloro-2-methyl-isothiazolin-3(2H)-one (CMI) and 2-methylisothiazolin-3(2H)-one (MI). Does not comply with the requirements of the Toy Safety Directive. |
||
|
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. |
||
|
Chemical, Choking |
1 |
Toy gun set: |
|
2 |
Plastic headband: |
|
|
Choking, Injuries |
1 |
Soft toy: |
|
Choking |
12 |
Small parts. Does not comply with EN 71-1 |
|
Plastic toys: The toy's handle is too long, which may lead to choking if small children put it in their mouth. It does not comply with the Toy Safety Directive and EN 71-1. |
||
|
Baby's bodysuit: It contains small decorative elements that can easily be detached. It does not comply with EN 71-1. |
||
|
Damage to hearing |
1 |
Toy telephone: The sound pressure level produced by the toy is too high and could lead to permanent or partial hearing loss. It does not comply with Toy Safety Directive and EN 71-1. |
|
Electric shock |
2 |
Humidifier: Live parts can become live and accessible. It does not comply with the Low Voltage Directive and EN 60335. |
|
Electric shock, Microbiological |
1 |
Humidifier: Live parts can become accessible indirectly (via water) and the water tank is not accessible for cleaning. It does not comply with the Low Voltage Directive and EN 60335. |
|
Injuries |
1 |
Children's car seat: In the event of a car-crash, the child-seat may not be resistant enough to protect children taller than 139 cm. It does not comply with Regulation UN/ECE No 44-04. |
|
1 |
Children's car seat: Due to possible interference between the harness system and the internal components of the child restraint system, there could be a potential loss of integrity of the harness system during the adjustment process. It does not comply with Regulation UN/ECE No 44-04. |
|
|
1 |
Toy ironing board: Article is not sufficiently stable and can tip over when using the product. |
|
|
Injuries, Strangulation |
1 |
Children sports outfit: It bears functional cords with free ends and toggles in the hood and in the waist area. It does not comply with EN 14682. |
US
From 21 January 2021 to 20 February of 2021, CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) published the following recalls: 0 recalls regarding Childcare and children’s products.
